The story is set during the reign of Queen Victoria against a background of the Industrial Revolution and the country’s reliance on Welsh coal to provide heat for homes throughout Great Britain.
It begins with a soliloquy sung by an older Huw Morgan as he writes to Mr. Gruffydd, the local preacher, who has left the valley where its villages are now blackened by the dust from the coal mines that surround the area.
As he sings, he remembers those sunny halcyon days, when all was well in the valley before it became troubled. (Act One opening choral sung by Huw and chorus)
He remembers his childhood, as the youngest child of Beth and Gwilym Morgan. His older brothers, Ivor, Davy, Ianto, and Owen work in the local coal mine with their father, while sister Angharad keeps house with their mother.
He fondly remembers Angharad’s secret, yet unrequited, love for Mr. Gruffydd and her yearning for them to get together. (Song: Another Shore, solo by Angharad)
Ifor is secretly engaged to be married to Bronwen, a girl from the next valley, and he proposes to her on the mountainside (Song: The When or Where, duet by Ifor and Bronwen) which is followed by a boisterous wedding party. (Song: It’s a Fine day, sung by family and chorus) where we see an obvious mutual attraction between Angharad and Mr. Gruffydd.
Trouble begins when the mine owner decreases wages and demands more output at the expense of safety. At a meeting in the George Inn the miners decide to go on strike in protest. (Song: Marching to Union sung by cast and Male Voice Choir)
Gwilym's attempt to mediate by not endorsing a strike estranges him from the miners, as well as his older sons, who leave home in protest.
Beth interrupts a late night meeting of the strikers, threatening to kill anyone who harms her husband. (Song: My Gwilym, sung by Beth)
As she returns home across the fields in a snowstorm in the dark, Beth falls into the river. Huw dives in to save her with the help of the Miners, and temporarily loses the use of his legs. He recovers with the help of Mr. Gruffydd, which further endears the latter to Angharad.
The leader of the church Deacons Mr. Elias hears of Mr. Gruffydd’s support for the strike and demands that he is disciplined by the Deacons for supporting trouble in the valley, (Song: You Stand Accused sung by Deacons, Elias and Mr. Gruffydd)
The strike is eventually settled, and Gwilym and his sons reconcile and return home, yet many miners have lost their jobs. The exceptionally beautiful Angharad is courted by the mine owner's son, Iestyn Evans, even though she loves Mr. Gruffydd. Mr. Gruffydd loves her too, but refuses to subject her to the hard, spartan life of an impoverished churchman. (Song: Together We’ll Be Love, duet by Angharad and Mr. Gruffydd)
Angharad submits to a loveless marriage to Evans, and they relocate out of the country.
Huw begins school at a nearby village and on his first day he is beaten by the cruel teacher Mr. Jonas, for speaking Welsh in class.
On his way home, he meets family friends’ boxer Dai Bando and his crony, Cyfartha Owen, who decide to visit Mr. Jonas to teach him a lesson. Dai avenges Huw by carrying out an impromptu boxing display, at the end of which Mr. Jonas is knocked unconscious, to the delight of his pupils.( Song: Watch Out, Bando’s About sung by Dai Bando and pupils)
On the day that Bronwyn gives birth to their child, Ivor is killed in a mine accident. (Song: God Bless You). Later, Huw's brothers, Ianto and Owen, are dismissed in favor of less experienced, cheaper laborers. With no job prospects, they leave to seek their fortunes in America. (Song: Hiraeth, sung by Huw, Gwilym and Beth)
Huw is awarded a scholarship to university, but to his father's dismay he refuses it and goes to work in the mine. At his mother’s suggestion he lodges with Bronwyn, to help provide for her and her child and the family gather round her in support.(Song: No Longer be Lonely, solo by Bronwen)
When Angharad returns from abroad without her husband, vicious gossip of an impending divorce spreads through the town. She is visited by Mr. Gruffydd which causes gossip in the village. It is announced eventually that there will be a meeting of the Deacon - the governing council of the local church to discuss, denounce and excommunicate Angharad. This prospect enrages Mr. Gryffudd, for he knows she has done nothing other than return home from Cape Town without her husband. After condemning the Deacon's small-mindedness, he storms out of the meeting intent on leaving the town. (Song: God Will be the Judge, solo by Mr. Elias)
Mr. Gruffydd delivers his last sermon in church (Song: The Lesson sung by Mr Gruffydd)
He is about to announce that he is leaving when he is interrupted the alarm, signaling another mine disaster. Several men are injured, and Gwilym Morgan is trapped in a cave-in. Mr. Gryffudd catches sight of Angharad, who has rushed to the mine for word of her father; and we know from his expression that he will never leave now. As she looks pleadingly at him, he calls, "Who is for Gwilym Morgan and the others?" ( song: The Mine Accident, sung byMr Gruffydd)
Young Huw, Mr. Gruffydd, and Dai Bando then descend with other volunteers to rescue the remaining miners. Gwilym and his son are briefly re-united before he succumbs to his injuries. (Song: Gwilym’s Death, sung by Mr Gruffydd, Dai Bando, Cyfarthfa and Beth over Male voice singing O Iesu Mawr)
Above, in the cold of light dawn, the women of the family - Angharad, Bronwyn and Beth Morgan - have stood vigil all night; when Beth says, just after Gwilym's death, "He came just now. Ivor was with him. He told me of the glories he had seen!" Then the sound of the pulley announces the lift is returning from the depths of the mine. Huw is cradling his father's body, his coal-blackened face devoid of youthful innocence.
Huw returns to the present, finishes his letter, and continues to pack his clothes. As he leaves to seek his future realising that there is nothing left for him in the valley, he sees all the ghosts of the past saying farewell and remembers How Green was the valley then. ( Song: Huw’s leaving and finale)
NOTES
How Green Was My Valley is a realistic historical novel by the English writer Richard Llewellyn. Published in 1939, the book tells the story of a working class Welsh family working in a mining town called the Valley. Llewellyn claimed that the novel was based on his personal experiences as a young man, but this was later found to be untrue. Though his parents were Welsh, Llewellyn was born in England and lived most of his life in larger metropolitan cities rather than a small industry town. He conducted research for How Green Was My Valley and its sequels by interviewing mining families in Gilfach Goch, Wales.
A somewhat sentimental novel dedicated to documenting a disappearing way of life, How Green Was My Valley was well-received at the time of its publication. In the United States, it received the National Book Award for favorite novel of 1940. It also inspired three sequels that followed Huw’s life after he left the Valley.