When the Stones Held
By David E. Owen
Publication Date: 16th May 2026
Publisher: Independently Published
Print Length: 331 Pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
When the Stones Held is a historical novel inspired by the remarkable true story of William Edwards, the self-taught Welsh stonemason who built one of the great bridges of the eighteenth century.
Growing up in rural South Wales, William lives in a world of hard physical labour, dangerous rivers and limited opportunity. From an early age, he develops an instinctive understanding of stone, balance and the possibilities hidden within the landscape around him.
As the coal trade begins to transform the valleys and the need for safer routes grows, William accepts an extraordinary challenge: to build a bridge across the River Taff at Pontypridd. He is twenty-seven years old and has never built a bridge before.
What follows will test far more than his skill as a stonemason. Flood destroys his first bridge. Later attempts bring new failures and new problems to solve. With his reputation, livelihood and family affected by every decision he makes, William must decide how much he is prepared to risk for something no one can promise will succeed.
Set against a South Wales beginning to experience profound change, When the Stones Held is a story of ambition, family, community and resilience, and of an apparently ordinary man whose determination would leave a legacy that survives more than two and a half centuries later.
Any Triggers: Drowning, poverty
My Thoughts
When the Stones Held is not a book I would ordinarily have chosen for myself. A novel about an eighteenth-century bridge builder did not immediately sound like something that would have me turning the pages late into the evening. How wrong I was.
I knew absolutely nothing about William Edwards before reading this book, but I soon became completely caught up in his story. His childhood is marked by terrible hardship and the loss of his father, and life does not suddenly become kinder to him as he grows older. He experiences poverty, bullying and people who belittle both him and his ambitions, but somehow he keeps going. There were times when I wondered how much more could possibly be thrown at him.
What I particularly liked was that William never felt like a historical figure being presented to me from a distance. I cared about him. I wanted him to succeed, and every time life knocked him down, I was willing him to get back up again. His determination to build a bridge across the River Taff becomes about so much more than stone and engineering. The river took his father, and William wants to find a way to stop it taking more lives.
David E. Owen also made eighteenth-century Wales feel very real. This is a world of hard work and poverty, where opportunities are limited and your circumstances can dictate the course of your entire life. Against that background, William's determination to achieve something more is all the more remarkable.
I really did not expect to enjoy When the Stones Held as much as I did, and perhaps that is why it made such an impression on me. I began the book knowing nothing about William Edwards and finished it wanting to know more about him and what he achieved.
A fascinating and very engaging historical novel that I am extremely glad I picked up.
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David E. Owen
After decades spent teaching around the world—from the UK to the Caribbean, Africa, and the Middle East—I came to writing fiction later in life. I started with fantasy before finding my voice in fast-paced, real-world spy thrillers. My stories are grounded in current issues like corruption, gender bias, and power, but always emphasise pace, surprise, and character-driven tension.
I’ve visited over 80 countries, worked as a radio host in Abu Dhabi, directed Shakespeare for African audiences in the bush, and even survived a flash flood in Mali and an armed hold-up. I was arrested for drug-smuggling in Nigeria but was eventually released when I refused to pay off the police captain, and I was boat-wrecked alone on a desert island in the Arabian Sea (but no tree) and rescued through a police search. Now retired from teaching, I split my time between writing, photography, and trying to get fit (thanks to a stubborn rowing machine). My latest novel, Hate Machine, tackles misogyny and gender radicalisation — not typical thriller territory, but I like a challenge.
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