A glorious satire on the countryside in crisis, and a cautionary tale of urban refugees in search of Eden
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'It's a complete hoot' - Daily Mirror


'Laugh-out-loud funny, with one of the best opening chapters I can remember . It's Postman Pat for grown-ups' - Cressida Connolly, Vogue
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It is the 1980s and deep in mid-Wales the inhabitants of the Nant Valley believe they are successfully holding out against the modern world. However, outsiders have discovered the Valley and believe it to be an idyll.


The rich and mysterious Stéfan, for example, buys a derelict manor house and sets about being a squire - but finds that his money is failing to impress anyone, and he can't even get served in the pub as Gwillim the landlord hates all customers. Jane and Rob, poor and arty urbanites, want to live The Good Life, but find that their enthusiasm for alfresco nudity has tragic repercussions for the farming community. Dafydd, the all-seeing postman, doubts the Valley is ready for outsiders, and as the locals struggle with sexual scandal, hostile artisans, an unsuccessful laundromat exhibition and a corpse, the omens are not good.
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'The book isn't about national character but about life in remote places; it's a bit like Little Britain . There are lots of good one-line jokes, but they have a purpose . a convincingly comic demonstration of the resilient power of history, apathy and rain' - Sunday Times

Barry Pilton has written scripts for radio and tv including Weekending, Spitting Image and has also written numerous plays. He has worked with a large number of stars of British light entertainment including Griff Rhys Jones, Brenda Blethyn, Richard Briers and Nicholas Lyndhurst. He is currently working on the TV adaptation of The Valley. For many years he lived in mid-Wales and he now lives in Bristol.