Owen Glendower: An Historical Novel by John Cowper Powys was first published in America in January 1941, and in the UK in February 1942.Issued 24 January 1941 in the USA and 6 February 1942 in the UK (not published in 1940 and 1941 as shown in the texts). Dante Thomas, A Bibliography of the Principal Writings of John Cowper Powys, unpublished Ph.D thesis (State University of New York at Albany, 1971), p. 54-56. Powys returned to Britain from the United States in 1934, with his lover Phyllis Playter, living first in Dorchester, where he began work on his novel Maiden Castle. However, in July, 1935, they moved to the village of Corwen, Denbighshire, North Wales, historically part of Edeirnion or Edeyrnion, an ancient commote of medieval Wales that was once part of the Kingdom of Powys; it was at Corwen that he completed Maiden Castle (1936).Morine Krissdóttir, A Descents of Memory. New York: Overlook Duckworth, 2007, p. 323. This move to the land of his ancestors led Powys to write Owen Glendower the first of two historical novels set in this region of Wales; the other was Porius (1951). Owen, Powys's ninth novel, reflects "his increasing sense of what he thought of as his bardic heritage."Richard Perceval Graves, The Brothers Powys. (Oxford: Oxford University Press,1984), pp.2 51,267"The English degenerate", Margaret Drabble, The Guardian, 12 August 2006. Retrieved 8 August 2012

Powys has used Shakespeare's anglicised version of Owain Glyndŵr's name, "Owen Glendower" for the title of his novel. However, within the novel, he uses Owen Glyn Dŵr (sic) (most often just Owen). He also refers to Glyndŵr as "Owen ap Griffith" or "son of Griffith Fychan" ()

The writing and publishing of the novel

It is not surprising that John Cowper Powys should, after he moved to Corwen, decide to begin a novel about Owain Glyndŵr, because it was in Corwen that Owain's rebellion against Henry IV began on 16 September 1400.R. Rees Davies, The Revolt of Owain Glyn Dŵr (Oxford: Oxford University Press), 1995. This was when he formally assumed the ancestral title of Prince of Powys at his manor house of Glyndyfrdwy, then in the parish of Corwen. But Powys first had to complete Maiden Castle (1936), which he did in February 1936.Morine Krissdóttir Descents of Memory: The Life of John Cowper Powys (New York: Overlook Duckworth, 2007), p.3 25. He then worked on his anti-vivisection book, Morwyn (1937), which was finished in January 1937.Krissdóttir, Descents of Memory, p. 330. However, already in September 1935 Phyllis Playter has suggested that he should write a historical novel about Owain Glyndŵr.Krissdóttir, p. 325. On 24 April 1937, in the Chapter House, Abbey of Valle Crucis, Powys began, "my Romance about Owen Glendower ".Petrushka and the Dancer: The Diaries of John Cowper Powys 1929-1939, ed. Morine Krissdóttir (Manchester: Carcanet, 1995), p. 238. Then on 25 June 1937 he visited Meifod, near Welshpool, noted as the royal burial ground of many of the kings and princes of the Welsh kingdom of Powys, Clwyd Powys Archaeological Trust, Historic Settlement Survey - Montgomeryshire: Meifod. and nearby Mathrafal, the seat of the Kings and Princes of Powys probably from the 9th century until its destruction in 1212 by Llywelyn ap Iorwerth of Gwynedd. Mathrafal Castle He also visited Sycharth where Glendower had maintained a residence.W. J. Keith, Owen Glendower: a Reader's Companion, July 2007, p. 40. These places would have an important role in Owen.Krissdóttir, p. 330. During the next two years he thoroughly researched Owen Glendower, reading works such as J. E. Lloyd's Owen Glendower: Owain Glyn Dwr (1931) and J. H. Wylie's four volume, History of England under Henry the Fourth (1884–98), amongst others.W. J. Keith, Aspects of John Cowper Powys's Owen Glendower. London: The Powys Society, 2008, pp.15-16. Powys finished Owen on 24 December 1939, on the hill fort of Mynydd y Gaer, above Corwen, which, according to legend, was one of the places associated with Owain Glyndŵr's last days.Mynydd y Gaer is the local name used by Powys for Caer Drewyn . Krissdóttir, Descents of Memory, p. 340, and Petrushka and the Dancer, p. 333. Owen Glendower was first published by his American publisher Simon and Schuster in a two volume edition, in 1941, however, Powys had considerable difficulty getting the British edition published. Finally, after it was turned down by eight publishers, the Bodley Head agreed to publish it, though Powys only received £20 for this edition, which appeared in 1942. These difficulties were possibly related to the book's length and a war time paper shortage.Krissdóttir, Descents of Memory, p. 347.

Plot introduction The subject is Owain Glyndŵr's uprising against King Henry IV, though "Powys has elected to cover only a few incidents in the revolt, principally during the years 1400-1405", with the novel's concluding chapter then jumping forward to November 1416 AD, and the death of Glyndŵr.John Brebner, The Demon Within: A Study of John Cowper Powys's Novels (London: Macdonald, 1973), pp. 161-62. Powys does not deal with the historical events in the intervening years, after 1405, when Glyndŵr was mainly in retreat, thus taking Glyndŵr's failure to take decisive military action at Woodbury Hill near Worcester as the effective end to the rebellion.See Richard Perceval Graves, The Brothers Powys (Oxford: Oxford University Press,1984), p. 296.

On 13 October 1399 Henry IV (1399–1413) had been crowned king, after deposing Richard II (6 January 1367- ca.14 February 1400) and imprisoning him. Then in February 1400 Richard had died in unexplained circumstances. On 16 September of that year Owain Glyndŵr's rebellion began.

The story of the rebellion of Owain Glyndŵr is seen through the eyes of his young relation, Rhisiart ab Owen of Hereford, for the first eleven chapters. Then, in the concluding paragraph of chapter XI the point of view switches to Glendower, and he remains "the centre of attention for the rest of the book".W. J. Keith, Aspects of John Cowper Powys's 'Owen Glendower' (London: The Powys Society, 2008), pp. 72-3. However, Powys "slips into full-scale omniscient narration, in which the narrator is presented as knowing virtually everything". In addition to Glyndŵr and his family, the cast of characters includes real historical figures such as Gruffydd Young and the Lollard Walter Brut. Likewise, the historical events described in the book, such as the Battle of Pilleth and the signing of the Tripartite Indenture, are a mixture of fact and fiction; some of the incidents, such as the death of Hywel Sele,W. J. Keith, 'Owen Glendower': a Reader's Companion, July 2007, p. 22. are based on legend or oral tradition.

Synopsis

Summer 1400

On 23 June 1400, the Eve of St John's Day, a young Oxford student, Rhisiart ab Owen, is travelling towards Wales.Owen Glendower (1941), p. 15. He arrives at Dinas Bran Castle, high above Llangollen and just across the border from England, in a group that includes Walter Brut, a Lollard, and a group of monks led by the Abbot of Caerleon. Here he saves Mad Huw, who has preached that King Richard II of England is still alive, and a girl called Tegolin from being burned at the stake. Rhisiart and his fellow travellers then proceed to Owen’s stronghold at nearby Glyndyfrdwy, along with Owen Glendower's son Meredith.

Here after feasting and entertainment, they witness the death of the bard Iolo Goch, who with his last breath predicts Owen's rebellion. Rhisiart, Brut, Mad Huw, Master Young and a few other chosen individuals are summoned by Owen to give their opinions on the best course of action. During the meeting, a messenger arrives from the Pope in Rome. The following day, it is discovered that the papal messenger has taken word of the proposed rebellion to Owen's enemies, and that the Abbot at Valle Crucis is demanding hostages. These include Tegolin, Mad Huw, and Walter Brut. They travel to the Abbey accompanied by Rhisiart and are taken to Rhisiart's ancestral castle of Dinas Brân.

Rhisiart and Brut are held hostage in the castle for three months, when the castle receives an unexpected visit from a party including Harry Hotspur and the young Prince of Wales, Henry of Monmouth (the future King Henry V of England). With them are monks from Valle Crucis, one of whom turns out to be Owen Glendower in disguise. Rhisiart is rescued by Glendower, and in the course of the rescue Owen is hit by an arrow. Rhisiart, believing that it might have been poisoned, sucks blood from the wound.

Following this, in the concluding paragraph of Chapter XI, the narrative point of view switches from Rhisiart to Glendower.Owen Glendower (1941), p. 388.

The first eleven chapters of the novel, "no less than one-third of the novel's length" and "three months out of the time-span of sixteen years" are occupied with Rhisiart's arrival in Wales and subsequent imprisonment at Dinas Bran.Glen Cavaliero, John Cowper Powys: Novelist, p. 115.

The Rebellion begins, 16 September 1400 Owen reclaims the hostages and takes them to Glyndyfrdwy, where he is proclaimed Prince of Wales by his followers on 16 September 1400.

Then almost two years pass, and Rhisiart begins a romance with Owen's daughter Catharine. At the Battle of Pilleth, on 22 June 1402, Owen is wounded but the Welsh are victorious. However, Rhisiart is horrified by the desecration of dead English bodies by a group of Welsh women. Mortimer, left unransomed by the English king, agrees to a marriage with Catharine that will give Owen the assistance of both the Mortimer and Percy dynasties. Rhisiart makes plans to elope with Catharine, but she refuses, choosing to obey her father's wishes.

A further two years go by and Owen negotiates the Tripartite Indenture with Hotspur's father, the Earl of Northumberland, which he signs in February 1405, despite the news of a defeat for his forces in the north and the fatal injuries to his trusted "captain", Rhys Gethin.

Rhisiart, Brut, Mad Huw and Father Rheinalt are scandalized when Owen forces Tegolin to appear before the assembled troops wearing golden armour, and they prepare to oppose the prince's scheme to take her into battle with him. Through their intervention, and that of his own son Meredith, Owen is persuaded to alter his plans, and he gives Tegolin to Rhisiart in marriage. Following the ceremony, Rhisiart foils an assassination attempt by Dafydd Gam at the chapel door.

Rhisiart and Tegolin are sent with an army to relieve the prince’s forces on the Usk, and the focus of the action shifts to Owen himself.

The important Battle of Pwll Melyn occurs in the spring of 1405, immediately north of Usk Castle, where English forces routed their Welsh opponents, causing much loss of life, including that of Owain's brother Tudur, and Rhisiart and Tegolin were taken prisoner, along with Owen’s eldest son Griffith.See Chapter XX and Battles and Campaigns from The Chronicle of Adam of Usk

1405: Indecision at Worcester Later in the summer of 1405 a French army lands safely in Milford Haven. A few months later, Rhisiart and Brut are prisoners in the city of Worcester when Owen arrives at nearby Woodbury Hill at the head of a large army, having recovered many of his losses with the aid of the French. He camps at Woodbury Hill, but he delays the decision to storm the city until it is too late, and is forced to retreat. John Cowper Powys treats this as the virtual end of Glendower's rebellion, and he does not deal with events in the years between 1405 and 1416, the year he believes Glendower died.