The Water of the Wondrous Isles (1897) is a fantasy novel by William Morris. Although he is widely regarded as one of the most influential designers of the Victorian era, Morris was also a dedicated socialist and gifted novelist whose art explores the politics of his time through the lens of the imagination. Morris’ work in the genres of fantasy and utopian science fiction is an underrecognized but nevertheless vital aspect of his contribution to English cultural advancement. “This little one, who is henceforth called Birdalone, though the witch called her but seldom so, nor indeed by any name, dwelt there betwixt the water and the wood, and saw none save the said witch-wife, who, as aforesaid, fed her well, but scarce meddled with her else for a long while…” In the rural town of Utterhay, a wicked witch from Evilshaw arrives to peddle her wares. Beholding a beautiful young girl, she endeavors to gain the trust of her young mother. Invited to their humble home, the witch provides the woman money to head to market for supper, but when the mother leaves, her devious guest kidnaps the girl and heads for the forest of Evilshaw. There, Birdalone is raised to be a servant until, struck with a newfound sense of independence, she steals a magic boat in order to make her escape. With the help of the fairy Habundia, she makes her way from one wondrous isle to the next, risking everything to return to her home and family. This edition of William Morris’ The Water of the Wondrous Isles is a classic of English literature reimagined for modern readers.
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O autorze
William Morris (1834-1896) was an English designer, poet, novelist, and socialist. Born in Walthamstow, Essex, he was raised in a wealthy family alongside nine siblings. Morris studied Classics at Oxford, where he was a member of the influential Birmingham Set. Upon graduating, he married embroiderer Jane Burden and befriended prominent Pre-Raphaelites Edward Burne-Jones and Dante Gabriel Rossetti. With Neo-Gothic architect Philip Webb, the founder of the Arts and Crafts movement, he designed the Red House in Bexleyheath, where he would live with his family from 1859 until moving to London in 1865. As a cofounder of Morris, Marshall, Faulkner, & Co., he was one of the Victorian era’s preeminent interior decorators and designers specializing in tapestries, wallpaper, fabrics, stained glass, and furniture. Morris also found success as a writer with such works as The Earthly Paradise (1870), News from Nowhere (1890), and The Well at the World’s End (1896). A cofounder of the Socialist League, he was a committed revolutionary socialist who played a major part in the growing acceptance of Marxism and anarchism in English society.
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