The work of Welsh novelist Allen Raine, so popular in the latter part of the 19th century, has largely been forgotten over time.
Although written off as romances by publishers in the years after her initial popularity, her 11 novels possess all the ingredients of a really gripping read.
Now one of her best sellers, which has long been out of print, has been revived by Aberystwyth-based Honno Welsh Women's Press as part of their Women's Classics series, in the hope it can entertain a new generation of readers.
A Welsh Witch, first published in 1902, has been edited by author and academic Jane Aaron, who has also written an introduction to the new version.
Jane Aaron. Photo by John D Briggs
Jane, a professor of English Literature at the University of Glamorgan, told me that she believes the novel has much to offer and is a real page-turner.
"Allen Raine was very popular in her time and sold widely in Britain and the US, while three of her novels were made into silent films.
"There is a real social and anthropological interest in reading her novels as she is very detailed in her descriptions of ways of living, from life in a fishing village, the dangers of working down the mines, what it's like to live among shepherds and a glimpse of gipsy culture.
"But there is also all the elements of a real adventure story, a love tale and a great deal about the psychology of the characters."
Raine, real name Anne Adaliza Puddicombe, was born in Newcastle Emlyn, Carmarthenshire in 1836.
She was educated in Cheltenham before moving to London. The last few years of her life were spent in Cardiganshire where she returned in 1900 after her husband became ill with a depressive illness, until her death in 1908.
Each of her 11 books achieved international success, selling millions of copies in Britain and the USA. They are all set on the Cardiganshire coast, around Tresaith and Llangrannog, and it is this degree of local knowledge Professor Aaron finds so fascinating.
"Her observations of life in a fishing village are very accurate and she jumps through so many different settings.
"One of the debates I had when editing the book was whether to keep in some of the Welsh phrases she put in the original.
"While she couldn't understand Welsh and wasn't literate in the language, the sentences or phrases she used were obviously written down as they would strike the ear.
"In the end I chose not to correct them as I feel they are very important and capture the local dialect of that time, so I’ve just included a glossary."
The fifth of Raine's novels, A Welsh Witch was viewed as important for being the first published fictional account of a coal mining disaster, and sold more than 350,000 copies when first published.
Set in 1904, it tells of the blossoming friendship between Catrin, a wild teenage girl, and her young neighbour Goronwy.
Professor Aaron says: "So much of the novel focuses on the idea of being underground. Catrin has many hiding places she has escaped to and knows all the underground caves, previously used by smugglers, very well.
"There are times when she is being chased and she appears to jump off a cliff, only to reappear in the village later.
"It is only when Goronwy begins to work down the pit and becomes trapped down there that he realises her strength and how unafraid she is of being underground and it inspires him."
Goronwy then travels to the Snowdonia mountain range, where Catrin has fled to live among a shepherding community. The pair are reunited in a scene which for Professor Aaron is reminiscent of Jane Eyre's poignant reunion with Mr Rochester in the Bronte novel.
Raine's novels are known for having a focus on women in tight-knit communities as they struggle to find fulfillment in their lives.
Professor Aaron added: "I think it's good for people to know the work women writers have done and the struggle they have had to get their voices heard, particularly in a culture which has sometimes been ignored as Welsh culture has."
