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A festival to celebrate the lifetime achievements of the man they call the Welsh Dickens gets underway in Mold, Flintshire this weekend.

Author Daniel Owen was born in 1836 into a mining family and is seen by many as representative of the typical struggles and issues of local life in that era.

His father and two of his brothers were drowned in a mining accident when he was very young, an event that was to shape his life for years to come and left surviving members of the family on the brink of destitution.

After early exposure to the teachings of the Calvinistic Methodist Church, Owen was apprenticed to a church deacon at a tailor's and developed a deep love of literature.

In his 20s, he attended Bala Theological College with the intention of entering the ministry as a preacher, but didn't complete the course.

Instead he worked as a tailor in Mold, preaching on Sundays, and wrote novels including Rhys Lewis and Gwen Tomos, which cemented his reputation as an important literary figure, able to capture life in the area at a key stage in the development of the Welsh language novel.

After the success of last year's festival, organisers have expanded their offer this year, with historic walking tours, a bilingual singing festival and family arts events. The festival aims to engage with the community as well as visitors to the area who are not Welsh-speaking.

Katy Duplock, proprietor of the Party Shop in Mold, accepts the prize and certificate for winning the Daniel Owen Festival window dressing competition (from left-right, Mold Mayor Cllr Ray Dodd, David Rowe of Mold Civic Society, Katy Duplock and Sian Williams of the Daniel Owen Festival Committee

The guided heritage walks take in places of local significance around Mold with some focusing on the surrounding rural area and its associations with Owen's work, and others shedding light on the area's industrial history.

The festival will also see the launch of the first complete English translation of Straeon y Pentan, from the original 1895 Welsh version, by Brown Cow Publishing.

In English it is being published as Fireside Tales, a collection of 19 short stories and character portraits often based on local urban legends of the era, by Daniel Owen.

The book is billed as being "intended to be read by the fireside on long Victorian evenings".

John Mainwaring, who is arranging the event, said: "With limited time and resource, we chose Fireside Tales, one of the shortest of Daniel Owen's five main works, as this year's translation.

"Both Adam Pearce and Derec Llwyd Morgan have worked incredibly hard to make this come together, and I am indebted to them both for their good-natured willingness in giving so much of their personal time.

"I can only assume they get as much pleasure from Owen's work as I do. It has been an honour to work with them, and Y Lolfa, to present this copy of the text to a wider audience."

There will also be a lecture by the well known Judge Niclas Parry on Owen's classic novel, Enoc Huws, and how its value transcends other periods and has significance in the English language as well as the original Welsh.

And the role and formative influence of Owen's mentor Roger Edwards will be discussed in a talk by his great-great-grandson Christopher Edwards.

The Clwb Cymdeithasu Cymraeg Yr Wyddgrug is hosting a social evening, while writer Fiona Hughes will share stories from her book Denbighshire Folk Tales.

Music lovers can also enjoy a gig with Pete Morton and Tegeingl Twmpath Band and a performance by Ensemble Cymru featuring music by Mendelssohn and Gareth Glyn.

Chair of the organising committee, Kevin Matthias, said all those involved hope to build on the success of last year.

He said: "We have widened the scope and although it is designed for people already interested in the history, heritage and culture of the area, it's open to newcomers.

"Obviously there is a strong Welsh language element, but many of the events are bilingual and something that non Welsh speakers can enjoy."

Mr Matthias said he felt Owen still held such thrall over the area because his struggles reflected those of the people of his time.

"He was born into a mining family, endured poverty throughout his upbringing, then took on a trade, was involved in early Methodist teachings and then became one of the greatest novelists in our history."

Mr Matthias himself is hosting an event at Flintshire Record Office in Hawarden to show people how often Owen crops up in the local archives and will lead two of the historical tours.

He added: "We extend a warm welcome to everybody and hope they can make it along to some of the events."

The programme for the festival, which runs from Sunday 16 October to Saturday 22 October is available to view at . For tickets call 01352 754791.