Product Description

Book Description:

"One of the recognized forerunners of Tolkien was William Morris, skilled artist, pioneering Socialist, translator of Icelandic sagas, and fantasy writer. The Wood Beyond the World is one of Morris' masterpieces which he originally published using hand-set type." (Quote from sacred-texts.com)

Table of Contents:

Publisher's Preface; Of Golden Walter And His Father; Golden Walter Takes Ship To Sail The Seas; Walter Heareth Tidings Of The Death Of His Father; Storm Befalls The Bartholomew, And She Is Driven Off Her Course; Now They Come To A New Land; The Old Man Tells Walter Of Himself. Walter Sees A Shard In The Cliff-wall; Walter Comes To The Shard In The Rock-wall; Walter Wends The Waste; Walter Happeneth On The First Of Those Three Creatures; Walter Happeneth On Another Creature In The Strange Land; Walter Happeneth On The Mistress; The Wearing Of Four Days In The Wood Beyond The World; Now Is The Hunt Up; The Hunting Of The Hart; The Slaying Of The Quarry; Of The King's Son And The Maid; Of The House And The Pleasance In The Wood; The Maid Gives Walter Tryst; Walter Goes To Fetch Home The Lion's Hide; Walter Is Bidden To Another Tryst; Walter And The Maid Flee From The Golden House; Of The Dwarf And The Pardon; Of The Peaceful Ending Of That Wild Day; The Maid Tells Of What Had Befallen Her; Of The Triumphant Summer Array Of The Maid; They Come To The Folk Of The Bears; Morning Amongst The Bears; Of The New God Of The Bears; Walter Strays In The Pass And Is Sundered From The Maid; Now They Meet Again; They Come Upon New Folk; Of The New King Of The City And Land Of Stark-wall; Concerning The Fashion Of King-making In Stark-wall; Now Cometh The Maid To The King; Of The King Of Stark-wall And His Queen; Of Walter And The Maid In The Days Of The Kingship

About the Publisher:

Forgotten Books is a publisher of historical writings, such as: Philosophy, Classics, Science, Religion, Esoteric and Mythology. www.forgottenbooks.org

Forgotten Books is about sharing information, not about making money. All books are priced at wholesale prices. We are also the only publisher we know of to print in large sans-serif font, which is proven to make the text easier to read and put less strain on your eyes.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1247508 in Books
• Published on: 2008-01-09
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 146 pages

About the Author
About the Author:

"William Morris (March 24, 1834 - October 3, 1896) was an English artist, writer, and socialist. He was one of the principal founders of the British Arts and Crafts movement, a pioneer of the socialist movement in Britain, and a writer of poetry and fiction. He is perhaps best known as a designer of wallpaper and patterned fabrics.

Born on his family's estate of Elm House in Walthamstow, he went to school at Marlborough College, but left in 1851 after a student rebellion there. He then went to Exeter College, Oxford after studying for his matriculation to the university. He became influenced by the work of art and social critic John Ruskin while there." (Quote from wikipedia.org)

Customer Reviews

Beyond the wood
The multitalented William Morris is reknowned for many things, but in literary circles he's known for having created the first real fantasy stories, even before Dunsany and Tolkien. Though heavy on prose and light on plot, "The Wood Beyond The World" is an intriguing look at the baby steps of the fantasy genre.

After a disastrous marriage to an unfaithful wife, Walter sails away on a ship, but catches a glimpse of a beautiful queenly woman, a misshapen dwarf, and a lovely young slave girl. When he arrives in a distant land, he encounters all three in a beautiful house in the Wood Beyond The World, where the sexy, manipulative Lady is currently living with a cold-hearted prince.

Walter stays there as a guest, and falls in love with the beautiful Maid, despite her mistress's jealousy. But the Lady has taken a liking to him, and despite his love for the Maid, Walter is drawn in by the Lady's magical charm. And breaking free of the jealous sorceress could be fatal for himself and the Maid -- even if they escape, they still have to deal with the savage wilderness of the Wood Beyond the World.

"The Wood Beyond the World" has the distinction of being the first fantasy-quest novel, although it hasn't had nearly the effect on fiction that J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis have had. However, it is an interesting read, especially when one considers that Morris had no mold to work with -- he thought it all up himself.

Morris chose to write in a very formal style, with plenty of phrases like "then waxed Walter wood-wroth," whatever that means. It's not a light read, and it gives the story the feeling of a minor myth rather than a straightforward fairy tale. And despite its formality, the book has plenty of exquisitely described moments, such as Walter eavesdropping on the Lady and her boytoy.

Unfortunately, Morris loses his grip on the plot in the last fourth of the book: the Lady and her evil dwarf are dealt with way too quickly. Boom, they're gone. The primitive Bear tribe is an intriguing idea that Morris brings up, and then drops. And the last chapters of the book feel contrived, as if Morris were trying to think up a happy enough ending. And he also seems to forget that Walter is already married, albeit unhappily.

"The Wood Beyond the World" suffers from a rather weak last quarter, but it's an intriguing and often beautiful read. And if nothing else, a literary milestone.

Beyond the wood
The multitalented William Morris is reknowned for many things, but in literary circles he's known for having created the first real fantasy stories, even before Dunsany and Tolkien. Though heavy on prose and light on plot, "The Wood Beyond The World" is an intriguing look at the baby steps of the fantasy genre.

After a disastrous marriage to an unfaithful wife, Walter sails away on a ship, but catches a glimpse of a beautiful queenly woman, a misshapen dwarf, and a lovely young slave girl. When he arrives in a distant land, he encounters all three in a beautiful house in the Wood Beyond The World, where the sexy, manipulative Lady is currently living with a cold-hearted prince.

Walter stays there as a guest, and falls in love with the beautiful Maid, despite her mistress's jealousy. But the Lady has taken a liking to him, and despite his love for the Maid, Walter is drawn in by the Lady's magical charm. And breaking free of the jealous sorceress could be fatal for himself and the Maid -- even if they escape, they still have to deal with the savage wilderness of the Wood Beyond the World.

"The Wood Beyond the World" has the distinction of being the first fantasy-quest novel, although it hasn't had nearly the effect on fiction that J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis have had. However, it is an interesting read, especially when one considers that Morris had no mold to work with -- he thought it all up himself.

Morris chose to write in a very formal style, with plenty of phrases like "then waxed Walter wood-wroth," whatever that means. It's not a light read, and it gives the story the feeling of a minor myth rather than a straightforward fairy tale. And despite its formality, the book has plenty of exquisitely described moments, such as Walter eavesdropping on the Lady and her boytoy.

Unfortunately, Morris loses his grip on the plot in the last fourth of the book: the Lady and her evil dwarf are dealt with way too quickly. Boom, they're gone. The primitive Bear tribe is an intriguing idea that Morris brings up, and then drops. And the last chapters of the book feel contrived, as if Morris were trying to think up a happy enough ending. And he also seems to forget that Walter is already married, albeit unhappily.

"The Wood Beyond the World" suffers from a rather weak last quarter, but it's an intriguing and often beautiful read. And if nothing else, a literary milestone.

A fantasy from a time before fantasy was a genre
Golden Walter leaves his loving father and his loveless marriage to seek adventure in foreign lands. He has a vision of a stately woman accompanied by a dwarf and a beautiful maid, just as he's about to take ship. This vision haunts him on his travels and somehow, he is driven to seek these 'creatures'. His quest takes him to The Wood Beyond The World, where terrible dangers await him. He falls in love almost instantly with the first woman he meets there and it becomes clear that he was drawn to the house of 'The Mistress' by some kind of magical power, though no-one admits responsibility for taking this liberty. As difficult and hazardous as it was to get to the wood, he could find escape far more dangerous. And what might he find beyond The Wood Beyond The World? More dangerous adventures of course.

It's a short and simple story with no character development and very little explanation of why the things that happen happen. There are plenty of things you could criticise about it. It's not politically correct for one thing - the dwarfs are evil and ugly, a king is chosen partly on the basis of his physical beauty - that sort of thing. But whatever accusations might be thrown at Morris's fantasy stories, he was a trail-blazer, writing fantasy before there was a fantasy genre, laying the foundation stones for later fantasy writers. I love his stories and the archaized language he uses. There are some oddities, as the previous reviewer has mentioned. I looked up 'wood-wroth' in my best dictionary and the nearest I could find referred to wind and sea being moved to a state of turmoil and commotion; violently stormy. There's a wood of huge poplars on the land behind my garden and when there's a howling gale, they thrash about like a stormy sea. Morris probably invented the term, intending it to indicate that Walter was extremely vexed. It works for me but it's fair comment that it won't be to everyone's taste. I'm inclined to give the book 5*s, not because it's the most wonderful story or that it will be widely appreciated but because I enjoyed it very much and I'm grateful to William Morris for inventing a genre that is well beloved by many many people, some of whom will not enjoy this book.