Description: Professor J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, wrote about his love of the works of William Morris. Morris's subject matter and linguistic style appealed to him, and Crane's woodcut illustrations must have provided visual inspirations. This edition is a replica of the book Tolkien read, with more than 700 woodcuts.
Brief description: William Morris (24 March 1834 - 3 October 1896) was an English textile designer, artist, writer, and libertarian socialist associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and English Arts and Crafts Movement. He founded a design firm in partnership with the artist Edward Burne-Jones, and the poet and artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti which profoundly influenced the decoration of churches and houses into the early 20th century. As an author, illustrator and medievalist, he helped to establish the modern fantasy genre, and was a direct influence on postwar authors such as J. R. R. Tolkien. He was also a major contributor to reviving traditional textile arts and methods of production, and one of the founders of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, now a statutory element in the preservation of historic buildings in the UK. Morris wrote and published poetry, fiction, and translations of ancient and medieval texts throughout his life. [Wikipedia]
Review Quotes:
"The tale is set in fictional Nordic lands (and seas) of a fictional past that roughly corresponds to the real era of Viking conquests. ... Although it is a fantasy, magic is all hidden around the edges and it comes off more as an adventure yarn than as a swords & sorcery precursor. ...I consider reading it worthwhile and I think it would make a worthy addition to the library of anyone else who is collecting early works of fantasy. This edition contains the original woodcut illustrations, which are a great supplement to the story."
Douglas Kullen