On a spring day in 1926 Mr Arthur Gwyn, Solicitor, arrived at the offices of Gwyn and Gwyn at 58 Eastgate Cowbridge and received a copy of The Black Abbot, the new thriller by Edgar Wallace, then Britain’s most celebrated and widely-read crime writer.
Arthur Senior Black Labrador at Vale Solicitors tells a troubling tale about his namesake Mr Arthur Gwyn. The Black Abbot novel featured a solicitor who is guilty of forgery, embezzlement and fraud who steals his sister’s fortune and fraudulently disposes of an estate he is administering.
Arthur was more than a little dismayed that the name given to this fictional Solicitor was Arthur Gwyn, of the firm of Gwyn and Gwyn and described on the back cover as “the unscrupulous and dandified Arthur Gwyn”!
For Arthur, and his brother Vivian Gwyn, reputation was everything. They were looking forward to marking the 70th Anniversary of the Cowbridge solicitors firm founded by their Uncle Thomas Rees in 1867. Arthur was a veteran of the First World War having served as Lieutenant in the Welsh Regiment. He was Town Clerk of Cowbridge and, with his brother, highly respected as solicitors of the town.
Arthur went straight into battle with the publishers and author.
Edgar Wallace immediately responded to express his regret: “I was staggered to get your letter on my return to town today and I lose no time in telling you how terribly sorry I am if I have annoyed you. It is all the more distressing to me because I was careful to look through the London Telephone Directory to see whether there was a Gwyn & Gwyn, or an Arthur Gwyn, before I set my wicked solicitor down in Holbom. I cannot tell you how sorry I am that this stupid and innocent blunder should have occurred, and I hope you will forgive me for even associating an honourable name with my Holbom villain.”
The publishers immediately withdrew the book from sale and called in all unsold copies. The book was reprinted with a different name for the solicitor. Arthur Gwyn received a respectable amount of compensation, and also a copy of the newly printed book with an expression of regret signed by Edgar Wallace on the fly-leaf.
Michael Morgan Director of Vale Solicitors (incorporating Gwyn and Gwyn) recalls being told this story when he started his career with Gwyn and Gwyn in 1984.
“No one knew what had happened to Mr Gwyn’s signed copy of The Black Abbot, but I have recently found a first edition which includes Mr Gwyn’s name and look forward to reading of his fictional exploits.”
“We are proud of the history of our firm and to work from the Gwyn brothers’ offices at 58 Eastgate which are named Gwyn House in their memory.”
“We also, of course, look to the future and continue to provide a full range of legal services to the people of Cowbridge and the Vale. We welcome the newest member of our team Matthew Lewis, another well-known Cowbridge solicitor who, coincidentally lives in Arthur Gwyn’s former home.
Vale Solicitors Advocates & Mediators
1 Boverton Road
Llantwit Major CF61 1XZ
01446 792535
102 High Street, Barry CF62 7DS
01446 733191
Gwyn House, 58 Eastgate
Cowbridge CF71 7AB
01446 775080
Want to know more about Vale Solicitors?
Check out their directory entry: Click here!
…
