The Well at the World's End — (1896) Publisher: The Well at the World's End was among the very first of its kind — it is an epic romance of duplicity, machination, passion, and wizardry, and is, in short, a vast odyssey into the weird. It is a beautifully rich fantasy, a vibrant fairy tale without fairies. It is the most entrancing of William Morris's late romances — part futuristic fantasy novel, part old-fashioned fairy tale. Morris writes his magic love story with a sense of color and pattern, and the sheer imaginative fervor of one of the most brilliant decorative artists that has ever lived.
   
 The Well at the World's End
Notes:
- Because the copyright has expired, you can get The Well at the World's End for free on the Kindle at Amazon or at Project Gutenberg.
- Make sure you have the entire book. Some publishers have divided it into two installments.
William Morris, a textile artist, was enamored of medieval chivalric romances, so The Well at the World's End, published in 1896, is his contribution to that dying literary genre. Thus, you’ll find heroic knights on quests, damsels in distress, and scary beasts to slay. The novel is even written in archaic language. What’s different and noteworthy about The Well at the World's End, though, is that it’s set in an entirely made-up world. For this reason, William Morris is often considered the father of high fantasy literature and, not surprisingly, both J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis credit him as a major influence on their own writing.
In The Well at the World's End, Ralph of Upmeads, youngest son of the King of Upmeads, leaves home (where nothing exciting ever happens) without permission and sets out looking for adventure. When he hears rumors of a well that exudes water with magical properties, he is intrigued and begins his quest. Along the way, he travels through various towns and wildernesses and meets — and is sometimes led astray by — a host of interesting people including a mysterious knight, a beautiful woman who may be a goddess, a treacherous servant, a brave tavern wench, a barbarian warrior, a solitary sage, and a sadistic king. Many exciting adventures occur and by the end of his two-year journey, Ralph is a different person and anxious to return home, for “him seemed the world was worse than he had looked to find it.”
Forsooth, The Well at the World's End takes a bit of getting used to whereas it’s written in archaic prose:
What is amiss, fair damsel, that thou art in such a plight; and what may I for thine avail? Doth any pursue thee, that thou fleest thus?
But meseemeth to adapt, I wot not how, and thou mayst also if thou persevere thereat. I’m not too fond of this style, but it wasn’t long before I got into the rhythm of Morris’s prose and it didn’t hamper my speed or enjoyment. I did have to look up a few words, but Morris used these same unfamiliar words so many times that I was soon comfortable with them. He also had the strange habit of sometimes changing, inexplicably, from past to present tense in the narrative.
Ralph of Upmeads makes a great hero — he’s strong, handsome, brave, and good. His adventures are entertaining, and so are the places (there is some beautiful scenery) and people (the women, especially, were surprisingly strong characters) he meets on his quest. The Well at the World's End is not likely to completely satisfy if you’re in the mood for something deep, dark, complex, or sexy, but it’s a fun story and, since it was written by the first fantasy world builder, it’s an important piece of fantasy literature history. —Kat Hooper |
Stand-alone Novels:
 The Story of the Glittering Plain — (1891) Publisher: It has been told that there was once a young man of free kindred and whose name was Hallblithe: he was fair, strong, and not untried in battle; he was of the House of the Raven of old time. "Drink, O black-fledged nestling! But call a health over the cup if thou wilt." So Hallblithe raised the cup aloft and cried: "Health to the House of the Raven and to them that love it! an ill day to its foemen!" Then he set his lips to the cup and drank; and that wine seemed to him better and stronger than any he had ever tasted. But when he had given the cup back again to Fox, that red one filled it again, and cried over it.
 Child Christopher and Goldilind the Fair — (1895) Publisher: Child Christopher and Goldilind the Fair is both fairy tale and prose romance, as freshly-written today as it was the day William Morris created it. It tells the tale that in the country which lay south of Oakenrealm, and was called Meadham, there was in these days a king whose wife was dead, but had left him a fair daughter, who was born some four years after King Christopher. A good man was this King Roland, mild, bounteous, and no regarder of persons in his justice; and well-beloved he was of his folk: yet could not their love keep him alive.
 The Wood Beyond the World — (1894) Publisher: A wonderful fantasy set in a medieval never-never land, reprinted here as a facsimile of the beautiful Kelmscott Press edition — But on the fifth morrow the ground rose but little, and at last, when he had been going wearily a long while, and now, hard on noontide, his thirst grieved him sorely, he came on a spring welling out from under a high rock, the water wherefrom trickled feebly away. So eager was he to drink, that at first he heeded nought else; but when his thirst was fully quenched his eyes caught sight of the stream which flowed from the well, and he gave a shout, for lo! it was running south.
The Water of the Wondrous Isles — (1897) Publisher: Hah, thrall! said the lady, thou art bold; thou art over-bold, thou naked wretch, to bandy words with me. What heed I thy tale now thou art under my hand? Her voice was cold rather than fierce, yet was there the poison of malice therein. But Birdalone spake: If I be bold, lady, it is because I see that I have come into the House of Death. The dying may well be bold.
 The Sundering Flood — (1897) Publisher: The Sundering Flood, among the last of Morris's works, was published in 1897, after his death. The beautiful prose and rich use of language are typical of Morris and fill the reader with a sense of awe and wonder. The "flood" of the title is nothing less than a river, metaphorically as well as literally dividing two lovers. And there is the fantastic, too: dwarf folk, a magic sword, and an ageless warrior to mentor the hero. All told, a delightful story certain to appeal to all lovers of classic fantasy. "C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien both acknowledged the influence of William Morris." —The Encyclopedia of Fantasy "No mountains in literature are as far away as the distant mountains of Morris." —C.S. Lewis
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