William Morris 1834—1896
William Morris was an English textile designer, poet, novelist, translator, and revolutionary socialist. As a designer, he was associated with the English Arts and Crafts Movement and was a major contributor to the revival of traditional textile arts and methods of production in Britain. His literary contributions helped to establish the modern fantasy genre. He achieved success with the publication of his epic poems and novels, namely The Earthly Paradise, A Dream of John Ball, the utopian News from Nowhere, and the fantasy romance The Well at the World’s End.
Available eBooks
News from Nowhere (1890)
One of the most literary and readable of utopian novels, News from Nowhere chronicles the impressions of a nineteenth-century visitor to the... read more »
The Sundering Flood (1897)
In his final novel, Morris draws upon Icelandic lore to tell a tale of two lovers, Osberne and Elfhild, separated by a broad river. When Elfhild... read more »
The Hollow Land (1856)
If you like your epic fantasy tales wrapped up in a dreamy layer of intricate, lyrical language, you'll love William Morris' engrossing novel The Hollow... read more »
The House of the Wolfings (1889)
The first step toward the characteristic large-scale fantasies which have had such influence on the genre ...is The House of the Wolfings. Here the... read more »
The Roots of the Mountains (1889)
When Morris published this epic tale of great love and heroic battles he intended it as a kind of sequel to The House of the Wolfings, but this novel... read more »
The Story of Grettir the Strong (1900)
A life scarce worth the living, a poor fame Scarce worth the winning, in a wretched land, Where fear and pain go upon either hand, As toward the... read more »
The Story of Sigurd the Volsung (1910)
This is the Longman edition in which some passages were replaced with prose summaries by Winifred Turner and Helen Scott. Son of King Sigmund, young... read more »
The Story of Sigurd the Volsung and the Fall of the Niblungs (1876)
One of the great books of world literature--an unforgettable tale of jealousy, unrequited love, greed, and vengeance. Based on Viking Age poems and... read more »
The Water of the Wondrous Isles (1897)
Drawing on medieval legend and age-old fantasy tropes, William Morris' Water of the Wondrous Isles combines the best of both of these genres and updates... read more »
The Well at the World's End (1896)
Credited with inspiring such fantasy luminaries as C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, William Morris' The Well at the World's End follows the travels of a... read more »
Wood Beyond the World (1894)
The Wood Beyond the World is a splendid tale, told in a romantic style and written in a pseudo-archaic English. The plot is full of tension, and the... read more »