Tylwyth Teg: Welsh fairy folklore and mythology in 'A Study in Drowning' by Ava Reid
Tylwyth Teg: Welsh fairy folklore and mythology in 'A Study in Drowning' by Ava Reid
fairy kings, curses and the fear of The Drowning
The folklore and the superstitions of the land of Llyr have shaped life there since The Drowning, when the violent seas consumed the land, lives and towns of the Bottom Hundred, and still haunt life 200 years later.
Stories of the Fairy King have haunted Effy in particular for as long as she can remember. He stars in her dreams, appears in visions, and lives in her mind always through the novel ‘Angharad’ by Emrys Myrddin.
The mythology of fairies, the fey, the Fair Folk, have many different origins in many different cultures, but Ava Reid’s take on them seem to draw largely from the Welsh mythology of the Tylwyth Teg.
Lots of Effy’s world is inspired by Wales, its mythology, and the Welsh language, but particularly in the Bottom Hundred. Yet it also reminded me a lot of Cornwall in England. The links to fairies, the myths and legends of the area, the wild weather and ragged coastline, plus Myrddin’s name.
Myrddin is Welsh for ‘Merlin’ (and Emrys for ‘emerald’, as a side note). That immediately makes me think of the wonderful British TV show from 2008 with Colin Morgan and Bradley James, and about the mythology of Arthur and Merlin itself which is very much rooted in Cornwall, particularly in Tintagel where Sarah and I visited in 2021. Tintagel Beach is home to Merlin’s Cave, the cave where Merlin is thought to have lived in the time of King Arthur.
In contrast, Hiraeth Manor feels very Welsh, with ‘hiraeth’ meaning ‘longing’. The manor is drowning in feelings of longing - Effy’s longing for belonging, Preston’s longing for academic success, Ianto’s longing for freedom, and the Fairy King’s longing for Effy. It’s a building suspended in time, falling apart against the thrash of the elements and the struggles of its inhabitants. It feels very reminiscent of Satis House, Miss Havisham’s great house in ‘Great Expectations’, in the way it sits floating in it’s own bubble of time and space.
‘A Study in Drowning’ is itself drowning in myth and legend, inspired by Welsh mythology and folklore, and the unending power of stories and finding your voice.
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