Selections from the Prose Works of William Morris

Originally published in 1931, this book contains a number of selections from the prose writings of William Morris. The extracts come from Morris' fiction publications as well as his more well-known opinions on art and design. This book will be of value for anyone interested in an overview of Morris' prose output or late nineteenth-century English writing more generally.

Preface; Introduction; Part I. The Middle Ages: 1. The roof of the wolflings (The House of the Wolflings); 2. Goths and Romans (The House of the Wolflings); 3. The hall of the ravagers (The Story of the Glittering Plain); 4. The spring market at Burgstead (The Roots of the Mountains); 5. The weapon-show (The Roots of the Mountains); 6. The opening of the folk-mote (The Roots of the Mountains); 7. The unknown church (The Story of the Unknown Church); 8. The churches of North France (Shadows of Amiens); 9. A Kentish village (A Dream of John Ball); 10. John Ball's speech at the cross (A Dream of John Ball); 11. The battle at the township's end (A Dream of John Ball); 12. The vision of the future (A Dream of John Ball); Part II. Art and Social Reform: 13. Medieval arts and crafts (Lectures on Art and Industry: Art and the Beauty of the Earth); 14. Art and the beauty of life (Hopes and Fears for Art: The Beauty of Life); 15. The art of the people (Hopes and Fears for Art: The Art of the People); 16. The study of ancient art (Hopes and Fears for Art: The Lesser Arts); 17. Neglect of art (Hopes and Fears for Art: The Prospects of Architecture); 18. The beauty of England (Lectures on Art and Industry: Art and the Beauty of the Earth); 19. The modern city (Lectures on Socialism: Art under Plutocracy); 20. Architecture (Hopes and Fears for Art: The Beauty of Life, The Art of the People, The Prospects of Architecture); 21. Machinery (Signs of Change: The Aims of Art); 22. The necessities of life (Signs of Change: How We Live and How We Might Live); 23. Means of improvement (Signs of Change: Useful Work vs Useless Toil); 24. The decorative arts (Hopes and Fears for Art: The Lesser Arts); 25. Arts and morals (Hopes and Fears for Art: The Lesser Arts, The Art of the People); 26. The best art (Lectures on Art and Industry: Some Hints on Pattern-Designing); 27. Gardens (Hopes and Fears for Art: Making the Best of It); 28. Furniture (Hopes and Fears for Art: The Beauty of Life, Making the Best of It, Lectures on Art and Industry: The Lesser Arts of Life); 29. Pottery (Lectures on Art and Industry: The Lesser Arts of Life); 30. Art for all (Hopes and Fears for Art: The Lesser Arts); Part III. Utopian England: 31. The guest house (News from Nowhere); 32. Hammersmith Market (News from Nowhere); 33. Education (News from Nowhere); 34. Shopping in Piccadilly (News from Nowhere); 35. Government (News from Nowhere); 36. Art and industry (News from Nowhere); 37. The change in industry (News from Nowhere); 38. The towns (News from Nowhere); 39. Hampton Court (News from Nowhere); 40. The upper Thames (News from Nowhere); Glossary; Index.