Showing results by author "William Morris" in All Categories

A true-crime collection culled from the crime files of the New York Times best-selling series, Notorious USA.

"The Wood Beyond the World" is a fantasy novel by William Morris, perhaps the first modern fantasy writer to unite an imaginary world with the element of the supernatural, and thus the precursor of much of present day fantasy literature. It was first published in hardcover by Morris' Kelmscott Press in 1894.

News from Nowhere (1890) is the best-known prose work of William Morris. The novel describes the encounter between a visitor from the 19th century, William Guest, and a decentralized and humane socialist future. Set over a century after a revolutionary upheaval in 1952, these 'Chapters from a Utopian Romance' recount his journey across London and up the Thames to Kelmscott Manor, Morris's own country house in Oxfordshire.

Step into the enchanting world of The Hollow Land by William Morris, narrated by Christopher Mireider. This timeless medieval fantasy tells the tale of a mystical quest through lush forests, ivy-clad castles, and an otherworldly land hidden beyond the horizon. Filled with themes of chivalry, romance, and adventure, Morris’s richly descriptive prose invites listeners into a dreamlike landscape where courage and destiny intertwine.

The Well at the World's End: Book 1 – The Road Unto Love introduces Ralph of Upmeads, a young prince who defies his father’s wishes to embark on an adventure. Driven by tales of a mystical well with life-giving waters, Ralph sets out on a journey filled with danger, romance, and wonder. This foundational fantasy novel has influenced greats like Tolkien and Lewis—an essential listen for fantasy lovers.

Although William Morris is known primarily as a designer, he was also a writer of poetry and prose. The novel News from Nowhere (subtitled An Epoch of Rest Being Some Chapters from a Utopian Romance) is his best-known prose work and describes a humane socialist future as experienced by William Guest, who is transplanted there from the 19th century. Set in London and Oxfordshire, the novel takes place in 2090, over a century after a revolutionary upheaval. It remains a distinctive literary contribution to the concept of the utopian ideal.

The birth of liberation movements in the C19th saw a rise in fighting for the rights of workers. William Morris believed decries the belief “not that Commerce was made for man, but that man was made for Commerce”, with the profit motive that renders all work miserable when “It is right and necessary that all men should have work to do which shall be worth doing, and be of itself pleasant to do; and which should be done under such conditions as would make it neither over-wearisome nor over-anxious.”

The Wood Beyond the World transports its hero, Walter the Golden, from the English village of Langton-on-Holm across the seas to a magical kingdom in a forest beyond the known world, ruled by the Mistress, an extraordinarly beautiful, complex, and sinister woman. There he meets the Maid, a woman captured, enslaved, and tortured by the Mistress, who has magical powers of her own.

The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood began as a group of painters, including Dante Gabriel Rossetti and William Holman Hunt, who wished to reject the stern and academic strictures of current painting and return to the simpler and more uncomplicated days before the Italian High Renaissance and the days of Raphael. The movement was short lived but very influential and, as well, was taken up by a number of different arts.

This fascinating work centers around the encounter between a visitor from the nineteenth century, William Guest, and a decentralized and humane socialist future without class segregation and with direct democracy without government al empowerment. Inspired by the work of John Ruskin and Karl Marx; this novel is not only a statement of egalitarian convictions but a great early contribution to the utopian genre! This work could be seen as a kind of utopian counterpart to George Orwell's famous and deeply pessimistic, dystopian novel 1984.

In this cornucopia of an anthology, you will find essays by some of the world's most beloved novelists, nonfiction writers, essayists and poets. You will see books taking flight in flocks, migrating around the world, landing in people's hearts and changing them for a day or a year or a lifetime. You will see books sparking wonder or anger; throwing open windows into other languages, other cultures, other minds; causing people to fall in love or to fight for what is right.

When the wife of Golden Walter betrays him for another man, he leaves home on a trading voyage to avoid the necessity of a feud with her family. However, his efforts are fruitless, as word comes to him en route that his wife's clan has killed his father. As a storm then carries him to a faraway country, the effect of this news is merely to sunder his last ties to his homeland. Walter comes to the castle of an enchantress, from which he rescues a captive maiden in a harrowing adventure (or rather, she rescues him).

Sulle sponde del fiume Mirkwood, in una fertile pianura circondata da fitti boschi, vivono felicemente le tribù gotiche della Gente della Marca. Una sera d'estate lo squillo di un corno squarcia l'aria e un messaggero irrompe nella Dimora dei Wolfings: tra le mani stringe una lancia spezzata, prova dell'avanzata dell'esercito romano. Sarà Thiodolf, saggio capo guerriero della Casata dei Wolfings e discendente di una misteriosa stirpe, a condurre i suoi uomini in battaglia a fianco delle casate alleate della Marca.

"News From Nowhere" centers around the encounter between a visitor from the nineteenth century, William Guest, and a decentralized and humane socialist future without class segregation and with direct democracy without governmental empowerment. Inspired by the work of John Ruskin and Karl Marx; this novel is not only a declaration of egalitarian principles but a great early contribution to the utopian genre. This work could be seen as a kind of utopian counterpart to George Orwell's renowned and deeply pessimistic, dystopian novel 1984.

"The Wood Beyond the World" is perhaps the first modern fantasy novel to unite an imaginary world with the element of the supernatural and is thus the precursor of much of present-day fantasy literature. The protagonist, (Golden Walter), gets married when he is a young man. His wife betrays him with another, so in his sorrow and to avoid a feud with her family, he sets off to sea.

William Morris was born in Walthamstow, London, on 24 March 1834 and is regarded today as a foremost poet, writer, textile designer, artist and libertarian. Morris began to publish poetry and short stories in 1856. Morris' fascination with the ancient Germanic and Norse peoples dominated his writing, and he was the first to translate many of the Icelandic sagas into English. He also published limited-edition illuminated style books, with his design for The Works of Geoffrey Chaucer standing out.

A celebration of one of the world's best loved actors, Sir John Gielgud. Here you can hear him perform his classic roles and read some of his favourite poetry.

March - the third month of the year in the Gregorian calendar brings with it the Spring Equinox and the promise of warmer days and shorter nights. Our selected poets, including Swift, Yeats, Morris, Swinburne, and Austin, of course provide the words to match the mood.

Welcome to the world of shadows, cloaked in perpetual starlight; its denizens are a mysterious and frightening breed. And sometimes, just sometimes, their eldritch whispers and murmurs can cross the boundaries of reality and enter our darkest dreams. Richard Groller and his troupe of dead and living poets pull back the veil in The Book of Night, revealing the terrifying denizens of the shadows.

This Magic Moment is a heartwarming true story about a white insurance executive's three-decade friendship with four legendary African American singers and their remarkable journey together. Three were Rock and Roll Hall of Famers - Prentiss Barnes and Harvey Fugua of The Moonglows, Bill Pinkney of The Original Drifters. The fourth was Rufus McKay, a Mississippi treasure and lead singer of The Red Tops. The book is a celebration of the power of music, friendship and trusting God's plan.