Tag Archives: William Morris

Ruminations on William Morris

4 Replies

William Morris

William Morris (1834-1896) was born today, March 24. Morris was active in a number of creative endeavors throughout his life, but the one that concerns us here is his writing.

Morris has a reputation today, when he’s remembered at all, of being difficult to read. And while there is some justification for that, I think it’s largely undeserved. I’ve read one of his novels, The Wood Beyond the World, which I reviewed some years ago at Black Gate, when I was reading through the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series. It wasn’t nearly as bad as I expected it to be. There’s a cadence to Morris’s work. Once I got into that rhythm, it was fairly easy going. Continue reading →

Pre-Tolkien Fantasy: “The Folk of the Mountain Door” by William Morris

4 Replies

Tales Before Tolkien
Douglas A. Anderson, ed.
trade paperback $16
ebook $4.99

Yeah, okay, this may be cheating a bit, but if we’re going to be looking at stories that preceded The Lord of the Rings and may have inspired Tolkien, why not start here?

I’m going to look at two stories in this book, one by William Morris and the other by H. Rider Haggard in an upcoming post.  For the third, I’ll read something from another source by a different author.  There’s been a lot of interest in Lord Dunsany, so I’ll probably let others focus on his stories.

For this post, I’m going to look at a piece of short fiction by William Morris, “The Folk of the Mountain Door”.  There will be minor spoilers. Continue reading →

“Jirel Meets Magic” on C. L. Moore’s Birthday

3 Replies

Born on January 24, 1911, C. L. Moore is one of the favorite writers around these here parts.  As I stated a couple of days ago on Robert E. Howard’s birthday, I’m going to be focusing on a work by writers I’ve done multiple birthday posts on rather than trying to come up with something original in a tribute essay.  Today’s story is “Jirel Meets Magic”.

Originally published in the July 1935 issue of Weird Tales, “Jirel Meets Magic” is the third story of the Lady of Joiry.  It opens with Jirel leading a charge over the drawbridge of a castle, breaking the ranks of the defenders trying to stand against her, and calling for her soldiers to bring her a wizard named Giraud.

Why is Jirel attacking the castle?  Who is Giraud?  What is Jirel’s reason for wanting to kill him?  Who cares?  Moore’s writing pulls the reader in, sweeping him along at a breakneck pace.  These questions will be answered, but for now all that matters is the heady rush of battle.

Continue reading →

New BAF Post on The Young Magicians

3 Replies

Young MagiciansI’ve got a new BAF post up at Black Gate.

This one is on The Young Magicians, the second anthology of the series that Lin Carter edited.  It’s a companion to Dragons, Elves, and Heroes.  This one starts at William Morris and continues up to what was then the present day (1969).  Included are selections by Lovecraft, Smith, Howard, Kuttner, Merritt. and de Camp, as well as Lin Carter himself.

Black Gate BAF Post: The Wood Beyond the World by William Morris

Leave a reply

The-Wood-Beyond-the-World-William-Morris-smallFor those who are interested, my latest post in the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series at Black Gate went live today.  It’s about The Wood Beyond the World by William Morris.  Even though the post has only been up a few hours, it’s generated some lively discussion.  Come join the fun.