About this Site
This site is devoted to a portrayal of a very beautiful and fascinating corner of Pembrokeshire which we have chosen to call "Martha Morgan Country" because it is the setting for the eight novels of Brian John's Angel Mountain Saga. So it is all about this strange thing called "a sense of place." And because the heroine, Martha Morgan, feels that the landscape is a part of her in a mystical or spiritual way, so that she "belongs" here and nowhere else, we thought that by featuring Mistress Martha (splendidly portrayed by Rhiannon James) in Steve Mallett's portfolio of photographs that we would be able to give the portrait much greater depth -- and a wider appeal -- than would otherwise have been possible. So we hope that those who browse the site will enjoy the experience! You can use the search box to look up places or topics. But please be aware that this is not a conventional "tourist destination marketing" site. There is a lot of information on the following pages, which we have tried to make as reliable as possible -- but if you need to know about accommodation, ancient monuments, activity holidays, craft workshops and assorted other matters, please use Pembrokeshire's normal tourist information network and specialist web sites. On the "links" page of this site we have provided buttons which will take you to the right places.
The web site needs feedback. If you have any suggestions or corrections, please get in touch via the "Contact" page. We will seek to improve and extend the web site with a view to making it a valuable source of images and information about this fascinating area. Please note that we have made the decision not to include wildlife on this site; wonderful as it is, and of vast importance to the understanding and the marketing of North Pembrokeshire, we have more than enough on our plate in trying to examine the area's cultural heritage........
The web site needs feedback. If you have any suggestions or corrections, please get in touch via the "Contact" page. We will seek to improve and extend the web site with a view to making it a valuable source of images and information about this fascinating area. Please note that we have made the decision not to include wildlife on this site; wonderful as it is, and of vast importance to the understanding and the marketing of North Pembrokeshire, we have more than enough on our plate in trying to examine the area's cultural heritage........
About the Project
Literary Tourism
Many parts of Britain have benefited from the interest generated by novels which have a very strong "sense of place." In some novels -- or series of novels -- there is such a strong regional identity that the books are actually referred to as "regional novels." That does not mean that the novels are parochial or of limited interest or ambition -- on the contrary, a powerful portrayal of landscape can deepen and strengthen a work of fiction, and create an tight bond between a reader who knows a place well and an author who might know it even better.
The novels of the Angel Mountain Saga are works of historical fiction, set in the regency and Early Victorian periods. But they are solidly rooted in the regional landscape of NE Pembrokeshire, and in particular the rough and beautiful landscape around Carningli and Newport. The novels could not be transposed to any other part of the world, since both the landscape and its traditions are quite unique. Author Brian John has tried to portray, through the lives of Martha Morgan and the other protagonists in the stories, the peculiarly Welsh feeling called "hiraeth" -- a word difficult to translate, but meaning both longing and belonging. Martha feels very strongly, almost from the moment she arrives at Plas Ingli, that the mountain of Carningli is a part of her, and that she in turn is a part of it. So "Martha Morgan Country" is broadly defined as the area which Martha called home and which features in the stories as the canvas upon which everything is portrayed. The area stretches from Mathry and Pen Caer in the west to Cardigan and the Teifi estuary in the east. With more than 80,000 paperback novels now sold, there are literally thousands of readers who consider themselves fans of the stories and who identify very strongly not just with Mistress Martha but with the places in which the story episodes are set. So the time is right to give readers a more visual portrait of Martha and her landscape; and right to encourage new visitors to the area in the hope that they too will pick up and enjoy the books and also come to know this fascinating and very beautiful corner of Britain. So now we follow Poldark Country, Shakespeare Country, Hardy Country, Wordsworth Country, Jane Austen's Bath, Charles Dickens's London and Cookson Country with something from Wales. And it has nothing at all to do with Dylan Thomas......... The Welsh version of "Martha Morgan Country" is "Gwlad Martha Morgan" -- a beautiful term. Gwlad strictly means "land" or "country" or even "nation" - but it has subtle undertones as well, implying something much stronger and more emotional than a simple tract of countryside. Here again, hiraeth comes into the reckoning........ 
Some Reviews
On Angel Mountain
A modern Welsh literary triumph... An excellent evocation of the beautiful countryside of the area and the traditions of rural eighteenth-century Wales. It has a page-turning plot, packed with adventure, treason, murder and passion, where the horrors in the drama are balanced by gentle scenes full of the warmth and love of the family at Plas Ingli. And it has, in Martha Morgan, an irresistible narrator and heroine: brave, impetuous, loving, and occasionally vengeful....... Welsh Books Council House of Angels This is a splendidly-imagined and well-told tale of good triumphing over evil, set in the dramatic scenery of Carningli near Newport, Pembrokeshire. ...the local colour is brilliantly imagined and the incidental historical detail, unobtrusively woven into the fabric of the narrative, is fascinating. Here is an adventure story in which the narrative never flags. The delineation of the main characters, especially the headstrong and irresistible Mistress Martha, by turns spiritual and earthy, is vivid and true. Robert Anthony, Western Telegraph Dark Angel The author has woven timelessness into the character of Martha Morgan. This is a love story, a tale of a complex, compelling creature on a voyage of discovery that veers between elation and despair and of a love lost and found. Martha reveals through her diary entries every innermost secret of her being. It reveals a driving force she at times cannot control. Martha has an eye for the most intimate detail of people and things; she is complex and mysterious, at times ruthless, yet it would appear she is insecure, in spite of the warmth and advice of the people who surround her. Whatever worms of discontent writhe in Martha's breast, be it passion, self-analysis or the nightmare of the Nightwalker, she is revealed as a creature of innate strength. This book is filled with goodness; it is filled with caring, compassionate people. It has a message that basically the human species recognizes truth, justice, fairness and kindness. Martha dominates this book. Her mysticism, and meditations on the mountain, her joys and sadness perhaps reveal the fragility seldom perceived in the Martha Morgans of this present day world. It is a timeless and compelling tale. Richard Cluroe, Gwales.com (Welsh Books Council) Rebecca and the Angels The unique perspective which the author brings to his robust saga of Pembrokeshire country folk ..... manages to make even the most familiar aspects of the Rebecca tale seem fresh, and arguably this is the most successful of the series to date. Once again the action builds to a dramatic denouement on the slopes of Carningli, and in the final showdown the spirited Martha once again confounds all those foolish enough to think of conspiring against her and her flock of guardian angels. Keith Johnson, Pembrokeshire Life 
The Companion Volume
The companion volume to the Angel Mountain Saga is entitled "Martha Morgan's Little World" and is available in hardback only, in a limited signed edition. A limited number of copies are still available. Please note, however, that this book was published in 2006, at which time only five of the Angel Mountain novels had been published. Further information can be found on the Bookshop page.
The Photographs
The photos taken by Steve Mallett, featuring Rhiannon James as Mistress Martha, are shown in the Photo Gallery and Slideshow sections of this web site. Many of Steve's moody landscape photos are also used on the later pages relating to Landscape, Heritage, Story Locations etc. However, because it has been necessary to use photos from a wide range of different locations where Steve has not worked, we have needed to use some supplementary photos from Brian's collection as well. A few of the photos used in the "slideshows" at the head of each page have come from local authority and other sources; sometimes we are unaware of the original source. Photos are not used here for a commercial purpose; we are promoting NE Pembrokeshire for the benefit of the community. However, if any copyright holder requests correct attribution or wants a photo removed, we will of course oblige. All of our photos are available for use under a Creative Commons license -- ie they may be used for non-commercial purposes, so long as correct attribution is made. Photos involving Rhiannon should also acknowledge that she is the model. Please contact Steve or Brian via our "Contact" page if you have any queries about photo use.
The Text
Most of the text on this site is by Brian John. Brian is prepared to allow its use under a Creative Commons license, although he will appreciate an acknowledgement as to source.
Audio SampleHere is a snippet from "On Angel Mountain", courtesy WF Howes. This is part of the episode in which Martha is humiliated by being whipped through the streets behind the whipping cart. The reader is Leanne Masterton.
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The New Project
The new project arose from a conversation between author Brian John and James Parkin of the Pembs Coast National Park. James suggested that a photographic portfolio featuring a model posing as Mistress Martha as a young woman might help to promote the Angel Mountain Saga and at the same time promote Newport and North Pembrokeshire generally. James mentioned that Rhiannon James of St Dogmaels was the current Miss Pembrokeshire, and when it transpired that she was dark haired, brown eyed and in all other respects a very good "fit" for a young and beautiful Mistress Martha, approaches were made, and she agreed that it might be fun to take part in a series of photo shoots -- university commitments permitting.
In making arrangements, we had great help from Kate Lindley from Refreshing North Pembrokeshire, and when a small grant was made available to us, we were able to bring in local photographer Steve Mallett after a tendering process. The grant also enabled us to hire Regency costumes for the photo shoots, and we had three excellent days of photography (29th December 2015, 19th January 2016 and March 30th 2016), rushing from one location to another in cold but mercifully dry weather! Our team consisted of Kate and Natalie from RNP, Rhiannon acting as Mistress Martha, her father Cllr Mike James (taking a short break from National Park and PCC duties), photographer Steve Mallett, Inger John on lunch duty, and Brian working out schedules and arranging visits. So -- huge thanks to all of the members of the team, who all helped to make the exercise really enjoyable and productive. Yet more practical support came from Natalie Pusalkar, Dave Lamb and Dennis O'Connor at RNP, and indeed from various Board members of RNP. Thanks also go to the property owners who were kind enough to give us access to their homes and to other properties which are linked in some way or another to the stories. We thank them individually elsewhere on this site. 
Some Reviews
Flying with Angels
This novel has all the feisty and awe-inspiring ingredients to be found in John's preceding books relating to Martha - and many of the original characters remain as alive and colourful as ever, together with several new and animated individuals who add still more flavour to the narrative. As always Martha finds a cause to fight for, and this time it is the Poor Irish, caught up in the Potato Famine of 1845-48. She becomes embroiled in a private battle with the secret Society of Sea Serjeants, and this gives her friends and family some considerable problems as they try to protect her from the society's vengeance. John, as always, has a magical feeling of place and his narrative is full of dynamism and perception. Norma Penfold, Gwales.com (Welsh Books Council) Conspiracy of Angels So pleased to reacquaint myself with Martha Morgan again - this is another totally gripping tale from Brian John.He writes with such credibilty that it's hard to believe that Plas Ingli and its occupants are all fictional. The historical 'element' is equally fascinating, and I have been completely convinced each time I read the novels in this amazing saga. It is such a shame that the BBC haven't got their act together and realised what an enthralling series this would make....or someone with some vision in S4C who could translate it into Welsh...we have the actors, the scenery is already there...if Hollywood can see the benefit of Pembrokeshire, why can't those nearer home ? Amelia Davies, Amazon.com Sacrifice Brian John could not let Martha die; his readership was in denial. Hence Sacrifice, his only book not to incorporate ‘Angel Mountain’ in its title, though it is very much part of the saga which started with On Angel Mountain. ................Brian John is the master of suspense, though this book is not all blood and gall. His descriptive prowess is eloquent. We are drawn to Carningli, the mountain where the Angels and the Ravens reside — a mystical place where Martha communes with nature, and the sheer majesty of the Pembrokeshire countryside. John's characters as usual are full of colour and verve; they leap off the page. One can understand why the Angel Mountain sagas have become something of a cult. Pick up any of the series and I guarantee you will want to read them all. Norma Penfold, Welsh Books Council 
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