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Title: The Wood Beyond the World by William Morris ISBN: 0-486-22791-X Publisher: Dover Publications Pub. Date: 01 June, 1972 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4 (4 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: A Quaint Fairy Tale
Comment: The Wood Beyond the World
by William Morris
This book will appeal to readers who are interested in the origins of modern fantasy. William Morris is cited by scholars as an influence on 20th century writers who gave birth to the genre, and The Wood Beyond the World is a readily available example of his work (and also considerably shorter than his Well at the World's End).
Simply put, the book is a romance, nay, a fairy tale of 260 pages. The 21st century reader had best be prepared for very light fare. None of the complexities that the modern reader has become accustomed to in fantasy are present, whether of plot, character, or setting.
Morris writes in an archaic form of English that is remniscient of that used by the American Howard Pyle (Story of King Arthur and his Knights, etc.) The language is not particularly hard to read, and while it does not stir the emotions the way, say, the neo-Elizabethan prose of E. R. Eddison does, neither does it seem awkward or detract from the reader's enjoyment of the story.
It is easy to see Morris's influence in the work of a writer like Lord Dunsany, whose King of Elfland's Daughter displays modern twists on some of the themes present in Wood Beyond the World.
Be certain to read this book in the Dover facsimile of the original Kelmscott Press Edition. A lot of the charm of the book is in the book itself: the typeface, the decorative artwork and illustrations.
Rating: 4
Summary: wonderful and unusual reading experience
Comment: The book you hold in your hands is the first great fantasy novel ever written: the first of them all; all the others. Dunsany, Eddison, Pratt, Tolkein, Peake, Howard, et al., are successors to this great original.
By fantasy, I mean the tale of quest, adventure or war set in an invented age and worldscape of the author's own imagination. -Lin Carter (Introduction to The Wood Beyond the World)
I like the definition of fantasy that Carter provides there and William Morris is certainly an early practitioner of the genre, but I think you've got to give pride of place to George MacDonald [see Orrin's review of The Princess and the Goblin (1872) (George MacDonald 1824-1902) (Grade: A)]
At any rate, William Morris is one of the more interesting and influential characters of Victorian England. Repelled by the changes that the Industrial Revolution had brought to Britain, he yearned for more pastoral times. By profession a Medievalist, he translated Norse sagas and printed them in beautiful editions. An artist and founder of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, he designed many of the flowery tapestries and wallpapers that we associate with the Victorian drawing room. Politically he was a utopian Socialist. And, as Carter says, as a writer he helped to create the fantasy novel. In all of these pursuits he harkened back to an idealized past, no where more so than in his writing.
The language, style and story of this novel lend it an aura of antiquity, as if it too was merely a translation of some medieval romance. The hero of the story, Golden Walter, flees his home upon realizing that his new bride hates him. Sailing forth on one of his merchant father's ships, his fate becomes intertwined with a mysterious trio: a splendid lady, her evil dwarf servant and a young maiden whom the lady has enslaved. Walter pursues the trio beyond the reaches of his own world to The Golden House, governed by the lady, known only as The Mistress. There he will battle the dwarf, free the maiden, with whom he has fallen in love, and together they will flee the Mistress.
Though Morris may have intended to recall a lost past, he truly does create a unique world of his own. It is a world in which the reader can lose himself for hours and it makes for a wonderful and unusual reading experience.
GRADE: B+
Rating: 4
Summary: A Pre-Raphaelite Fantasy
Comment: If only novels were made with such artistry and detail today. It is wonderful that Dover reproduced the text with the color and printing type-face that Morris' original book had. If you are familiar with fairy-tale romances, especially those of Celtic origin, the story won't surprise you. It has all the typical trappings: a maiden in danger, a handsome youth, and a great mysterious forest for them to be lost in. And all the expected events happen. But, what IS exciting about the book is the experience of reading something so beautifully presented and being able to allow yourself to savor the beautiful prose. There are parts of the book that sound like the lyrics of a minstrel's song. It was like taking a step back in time. All I needed was a glass of Absinthe and the experience would have been complete. Take time to enjoy this one.
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Title: The Well at the World's End (Well at the World's End) by William Morris, John Gregory Betancourt, Lin Carter ISBN: 1587150883 Publisher: Wildside Press Pub. Date: 01 March, 2000 List Price(USD): $17.50 |
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Title: The King of Elfland's Daughter (Del Rey Impact) by Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett Dunsany, Lord Dunsany, Neil Gaiman ISBN: 034543191X Publisher: Del Rey Books Pub. Date: 01 July, 1999 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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Title: The Well at the World's End (Wildside Fantasy) by William Morris, Lin Carter, John Gregory Betancourt ISBN: 1587150891 Publisher: Wildside Press Pub. Date: 01 March, 2000 List Price(USD): $17.50 |
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Title: The Worm Ouroboros by Eric Rucker Eddison, (E. R. Eddison), Keith Henderson (illustrator) ISBN: 073510171X Publisher: Replica Books Pub. Date: November, 1999 List Price(USD): $22.95 |
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Title: The Book of Wonder by Lord Dunsany, Lin Carter, John Gregory Betancourt ISBN: 1587156377 Publisher: Wildside Press Pub. Date: 01 February, 2002 List Price(USD): $12.99 |
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