Tributes have been paid to historical novelist Alexander Cordell, found dead at an isolated beauty spot in north Wales.

Cordell, 82, wrote passionately about the hard injustices of nineteenth century working class life in the industrial South Wales Valleys.

His best-seller of the early 1960s, Rape Of The Fair Country, was the first in a powerful series of books hailed by some critics as the most graphic fictional representation of Wales since Richard Llewellyn's How Green Was My Valley.

Cordell, clutching family photographs, was found in a stream at a disused quarry near the Horse Shoe Pass at Llangollen, Clwyd. His car was parked nearby.

North Wales police said his death was not being treated as suspicious.

His body is believed to have lain at the spot for some days before it was discovered. A report is being prepared for the coroner.

Cordell, of Rhosddu, near Wrexham, had been working on a new novel based on the life of the fifteenth century Welsh rebel leader Owain Glyndwr.

Although English, he described himself as an adopted Welshman and was an active member of Plaid Cymru, the Welsh Nationalist party.

Party president Dafydd Wigley MP said: ''Alexander was a great author and a true Welsh patriot.

''He truly believed that Wales should have self-government. It is tragically ironic that his life should end at a time when devolution and self-government are so close for the country he loved so much.''

Welsh authoress Iris Gower said Cordell had inspired other writers.

''He was able to tell a good story, about the real facts of life and about hard-working people who were subjugated. He had a wonderful sense of injustice, which I think is what most writers have,'' she said.

Born in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) while his father was serving in the Army, Cordell was himself a regular soldier for nearly 20 years.

His epic love affair with Wales began when he left the Army to become a quantity surveyor and was sent to Abergavenny to inspect a disused steel mill.

The industrial dereliction of south Wales and the turbulent history of mining communities inspired him to develop heroic characters against a vivid backdrop of grinding poverty, wealthy coal masters and the Chartist rebellion.

Cordell had led a reclusive life since the death of his wife. He is survived by a daughter.