William Morris on Socialism - (Edinburgh Critical Editions of Nineteenth-Century Texts) (Hardcover)

About the Book

Presents the first extended collection of new William Morris essays in several decades.

Book Synopsis

William Morris's socialist essays remain uncannily relevant for our time, as he addresses issues of inequality, precarity, and the need for pleasure and creative fulfilment in work and life. This scholarly edition traces Morris's opinions from his early insistence that all must have access to art in its broadest sense, through his years as a leader and theorist of the nascent British socialist movement. Finally, as Morris became the elder statesman of the socialist/labour cause, these writings demonstrate his efforts to reconcile competing factions in the service of common aims.

From the Back Cover

Presents the first extended collection of new William Morris essays in several decades William Morris's socialist essays remain uncannily relevant for our time, as he addresses issues of inequality, precarity, and the need for pleasure and creative fulfilment in work and life. This scholarly edition traces Morris's opinions from his early insistence that all must have access to art in its broadest sense, through his years as a leader and theorist of the nascent British socialist movement. Finally, as Morris became the elder statesman of the socialist/labour cause, these writings demonstrate his efforts to reconcile competing factions in the service of common aims. Gathered from manuscripts, newspapers and elsewhere, these hitherto less-available writings illuminate Morris's skill and tact in appealing to differing audiences in the interests of an egalitarian red-green creative future. Florence S. Boos is Professor of English at the University of Iowa and the founder and general editor of the William Morris Archive.

Review Quotes

William Morris, the best known British socialist of the nineteenth century, is also the most widely appealing. Marxist revolutionaries, Fabians, anarchists, Labour Party stalwarts--all have claimed him as one of their own. Florence Boos's collection of Morris's political essays confirms that Morris contained multitudes. Yet powerful, unchanging beliefs link the Gladstonian liberal of the 1870s with the visionary author of News from Nowhere. Boos's deeply informed introductions to every essay draw out their underlying themes and illuminate Morris's enduring relevance.--Michael Robertson, The College of New Jersey

About the Author

Florence S. Boos is Professor of English at the University of Iowa. The founder and general editor of the William Morris Archive, she has also edited Morris's Socialist Diary, The Earthly Paradise, and most recently, The Routledge Companion to William Morris. Her books on Morris include History and Poetics in the Early Writings of William Morris and The Design of the Earthly Paradise. She is also the editor/author of two books on Victorian working-class women's poetry and memoirs.