A Ram in the Well

by June Knox-Mawer

In A Ram in the Well, June Knox-Mawer provides the reader with a vivid picture of a way of life fast disappearing, even in a country that cherishes the past as dearly as Wales.

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

June Ellis was born on May 10, 1930 in Wrexham, Wales, UK, daughter of Frank Ellis, an accountant. She raised in rural Denbighshire. She worked on the Chester Chronicle. In 1951, she married Ronald Knox-Mawer (1925-2009), a barrister and member of the colonial judiciary, they had a son a and a daughter. The marriage lived in Arabia and Fiji, that inspired her writing. In 1972, they returned to UK.

Published since 1961, in 1992 her novel Sandstorm won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award by the Romantic Novelists' Association.

Knox-Mawer was also a noted broadcaster which included a long time association with BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour.

June died on April 19, 2006, survived by her husband and children.

Reviews

[Adele]

This account of a Welsh homecoming scores poorly in comparison to other books i’ve read of this sort; Carol Drinkwater with her Olive farm, Brian Viner’s account of his move to Herefordshire, of course there’s the best-selling memoir by Peter Mayle about his first year in Provence and my favourites, based on illustrations alone, the semi-autobiographical books of Lilian Beckwith set on the Inner Hebrides.
I’m not sure what it is that attracts me to the trials and tribulations of others in their search for an idyllic abode but I’ll always give them shelf space if I come across one in a secondhand bookshop. This one though could be sacrificed to accommodate a future and more highly rated competitor.

[Katy Wheatley]

This is an absolutely charming book about a woman returning to the Welsh hills of her childhood after years living abroad with her husband in such exotic places as Fiji. She and her husband buy a dilapidated Welsh house, tucked against a mountainside and the book recounts how they turned it into a home. More than that, the author has a knack of finding the most interesting stories and friendships and recounting them in the pages. It was blissful.

[Linda Berkerey]

Some very rich characters in this book. You could 'hear' the Welsh lilt in the words. Some funny anecdotes too.
But it wasn't (for me) a great read.
Partly due to not knowing when it was written.
Also the notion that they returned to the land of her father, in middle age, taking on this abandoned cottage in the middle of nowhere. Somehow the stuff of nightmares! Mind you, I have a friend who did just that in the same area and made it work!
But an innocent enough of a read

[Phil]

A couple return to their Welsh roots after a lifetime of working overseas and buy a tumble-down remote cottage to restore. It's a pleasant, undemanding read, although it does feel a little too 'rose-tinted' at times!

[Tammy]

Simple little comforting read, not especially challenging or intriguing.

[J.C.]

Only someone with Welsh heritage (as I have) would find this charming enough to finish it.  But it does offer insight into rural living in that part of the world.