The National Pageant of Wales

A hundred years ago, The National Pageant of Wales took place in Cardiff's Sophia Gardens, causing a flurry of media excitement. However, despite the impact made at the time by this dramatic performance of the history of Wales, the Pageant has since been largely forgotten. Hywel Teifi Edwards has written a lively, accessible account of the staging of the Pageant in 1909, accompanied by numerous fascinating photographs showing the players in costume. At the heart of this book is Owen Rhoscomyl, the one-time soldier, novelist and unorthodox historian who was employed to script the Pageant. A century on, it is time to celebrate The National Pageant of Wales once again, and to reflect upon the chances in Wales's political fortunes that it so flamboyantly presaged.