Kidwelly-based author C.P. Davies returns with Gracelands, a bold and brilliantly eccentric sequel to her acclaimed debut novel, Trecadno. Set against the windswept beaches, hidden coves, and patchwork fields of Carmarthenshire, the novel blends surreal humour with a vivid portrait of rural Welsh life.
Davies’ signature humour and inventive storytelling bring to life the quirks, rhythms, and hidden dramas of small Welsh communities. Drawing on her own roots in South West Wales – from growing up in Burry Port, spending time in England, and returning to raise her family – she infuses her fictional villages with the texture, warmth, and authenticity of real Welsh life.
Set in a vividly realised fictional landscape inspired by the coastal charm of Tenby, Gracelands reunites readers with John Simmonds, the Londoner-turned-reluctant outsider first introduced in Trecadno. But any hopes of a quiet life are swiftly upended when John wakes one spring morning to find a black Labrador in his bed. From this surreal beginning unfolds a wildly unpredictable year, as pirates, Elvis impersonators, and leather-clad nurses converge on the mysterious Gracelands, located on the enigmatic Alldey Island.
As winter sets in, events take a darker turn. Press-ganged into service at Gracelands, John must navigate an increasingly strange and unsettling world. What exactly awaits him on the island – and will he ever return to the safety of his seaside home?
Drawing on her heritage, Davies infuses the novel with the same keen observational eye and authenticity that characterised her debut. Davies says: “Driving through rural Wales, you sometimes come across villages that have barely changed since the nineteenth century. Beneath the quiet exterior of a place, all manner of schemes and subterfuges might be going on. This led me to dream up my own little Welsh town, loosely based on places near my home, including Llansaint and Kidwelly. In this book I’ve moved my happy band of Trecadno stalwarts to the coast and gave them a new set of challenges. I loved letting them loose on the open sea!”
William Rees, Trecadno and Gracelands editor, says: “Gracelands is a wonderfully inventive sequel that takes everything readers loved about Trecadno and turns it up a notch. It’s funny, strange, and unexpectedly moving – C.P. Davies has created something truly distinctive that we’re incredibly proud to publish.”
Gracelands is a thoroughly entertaining sequel that will delight returning readers while welcoming new audiences into Davies’ uniquely imagined world.
Available from all good bookshops from the 26th March, thanks to the Books Council of Wales.
