Teulu Bach Nantoer

A century after Elizabeth Mary Jones's classic children's novel Teulu Bach Nantoer was first published, a special documentary will delve into the story behind the novel.

Dr Siwan Rosser, a lecturer in the School of Welsh, has been working with S4C to create the programme about Teulu Bach Nantoer (The Little Family of Nantoer) which will be broadcast on S4C on Sunday, September 15 at 9.30pm.

The programme will examine the novel and the author in discussions with literary experts including Dr Rosser and Professor Katie Gramich, School of English, Communication and Philosophy.

It will also feature interviews with people who remember reading the novel as children, and compare their thoughts with the opinions of children today after they read Teulu Bach Nantoer for the first time.

In its day, Teulu Bach Nantoer was one of the most popular Welsh novels for children. It challenged the convention of only publishing religious and preachy magazines for children.  In contrast, Teulu Bach Nantoer offered material which fuelled their imagination.

In addition to the programme, the novel will be re-published as an e-book with a new introduction by Dr Rosser. In the introduction she writes: "Here is a contemporary electronic version of the most important Welsh novel ever written for children."

"It is important that we commemorate and celebrate Welsh novels for children from the past so that we can learn about what influenced and moulded Welsh children a century and more ago.  These books also have something to say about life today and we must ensure that classics likeTeulu Bach Nantoer are not forgotten," said Dr Rosser.

The e-book is now available at:http://www.cromen.co.uk/cy/llyfrau/nantoer.html