First published in 1962, this novel tells the tale of a young collier's death in a mining accident in Cilhendre, a fictional industrial village in the south Wales Valleys. The story vividly and sympathetically portrays how the Valley community, and in particular the women, come to terms with the sudden loss—an occurrence with which they are all too familiar. Yet for all its tragic subject matter, The Small Mine also conveys the warmth and gusto of the villagers' lives by means of its witty language.