In Shropshire, a quintessentially English county, this mingling of the English and Welsh over the centuries has produced a county rich in folklore clearly influenced by the Celts of Wales.
This Celtic influence can be found in the literature of Shropshire. If you ask most people to name a Shropshire poet or writer the vast majority will name A E Housman. His collection of poems A Shropshire Lad was a popular work which painted a picture of a rural idyll which many still seek. However Housman was not from Shropshire and his poems lack the real feel of someone who not only knows Shropshire but loves and understands the true nature of this county. For that kind of insight I would suggest that you read the novels and poems of Mary Webb.
Mary Webb was born Gladys Mary Meredith in the small village of Leighton in Shropshire in 1881. The village nestles close to the Wrekin ( the major hill in Shropshire) and near to the River Severn so from an early age Mary was connected to two of the major features in Shropshire. Living close to the breathtaking splendour of Wenlock Edge and the beauty of the Long Mynd and Stiperstones areas of South Shropshire she became ever more interested in her surroundings and in nature. It is this affinity for, and understanding of, the countryside that makes Webb the pre-eminent literary voice of Shropshire.
The Celtic influence in Webb's work came primarily from her father George Meredith proud of his Welsh heritage and her Scottish mother Sarah Alice Scott ( a distant relation of Sir Walter Scott). Her father told her the many tales of the border area and these only increased Mary's interest and love of the countryside. Some of the tales found their way into her work providing even more richness and empathy with Shropshire. She was also influenced by the writings of Thomas Hardy.
Mary's love of the land also extended to animals and she was a vegetarian and against all forms of hunting. This loathing of the killing of living things ( human or animal) is used in Gone to Earth which was written during the First World War and in her final novel Armour Wherein He Trusted. Like other writers Mary used her own experiences in her writing and the disfigurement she suffered as a result of contracting Graves' Disease ( an enlarged gland at the base of her neck and protruding eyes) was used in Precious Bane in which Prudence Sarn has a harelip.
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