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Article: William Morris. The Earthly Paradise.(Book Review)
- Article from:
- Utopian Studies
- Article date:
- January 1, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Society for Utopian Studies. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Ed. Florence S. Boos. New York and London: Routledge, 2001.2 vols. 1639 pp. 35 b/w illustrations. $275.00.
THE PREMISE behind William Morris's mid-Victorian magnum opus--some 42,000 lines of rhymed verse, first published over a two-year period between 1868 and 1870--is the story of twelve 14th-century Norwegian sailors who flee the Black Plague and "having heard of the Earthly Paradise, set sail to find it" (Morris's prologue). They wind up on an isolated island that houses the last remnants of ancient Greek civilization, where they are hospitably received and are invited to exchange stories with their hosts. This frame tale, with its obvious echoes of Boccaccio ...