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= = Career and fame = =
= = = Red House and the Firm : 1859 – 65 = = =
Morris desired a new home for himself and his wife , resulting in the construction of the Red House in the Kentish hamlet of Upton near Bexleyheath , ten miles from central London . The building 's design was a co @-@ operative effort , with Morris focusing on the interiors and the exterior being designed by Webb , for whom the House represented his first commission as an independent architect . Named after the red bricks and red tiles from which it was constructed , Red House rejected architectural norms by being L @-@ shaped . Influenced by various forms of contemporary Neo @-@ Gothic architecture , the House was nevertheless unique , with Morris describing it as " very mediaeval in spirit " . Situated within an orchard , the house and garden were intricately linked in their design . It took a year to construct , and cost Morris £ 4000 at a time when his fortune was greatly reduced by a dramatic fall in the price of his shares . Burne @-@ Jones described it as " the <unk> place on Earth . "
After construction , Morris invited friends to visit , most notably Burne @-@ Jones and his wife Georgiana , as well as Rossetti and his wife Lizzie <unk> . They aided him in painting murals on the furniture , walls , and ceilings , much of it based on Arthurian tales , the Trojan War , and Geoffrey Chaucer 's stories , while he also designed floral embroideries for the rooms . They also spent much time playing tricks on each other , enjoying games like hide and seek , and singing while accompanied by the piano . Siddall stayed at the House during summer and autumn 1861 as she recovered from a traumatic miscarriage and an addiction to laudanum ; she would die of an overdose in February 1862 .
In April 1861 , Morris founded a decorative arts company , Morris , Marshall , Faulkner & Co . , with six other partners : Burne @-@ Jones , Rossetti , Webb , Ford Madox Brown , Charles Faulkner , and Peter Paul Marshall . Operating from premises at No. 6 Red Lion Square , they referred to themselves as " the Firm " and were intent on adopting Ruskin 's ideas of reforming British attitudes to production . They hoped to reinstate decoration as one of the fine arts and adopted an ethos of affordability and anti @-@ elitism . For additional staff , they employed boys from the Industrial Home for Destitute Boys in Euston , central London , many of whom were trained as apprentices .
Although working within the Neo @-@ Gothic school of design , they differed from Neo @-@ Gothic architects like Gilbert Scott who simply included certain Gothic features on modern styles of building ; instead they sought to return completely to Medieval Gothic methods of craftmanship . The products created by the Firm included furniture , architectural carving , metalwork , stained glass windows , and murals . Their stained glass windows proved a particular success in the firm 's early years as they were in high demand for the surge in the Neo @-@ Gothic construction and refurbishment of churches , many of which were commissioned by the architect George Frederick Bodley . Despite Morris 's anti @-@ elitist ethos , the Firm soon became increasingly popular and fashionable with the bourgeoisie , particularly following their exhibit at the 1862 International Exhibition in South Kensington , where they received press attention and medals of commendation . However , they faced much opposition from established design companies , particularly those belonging to the Neo @-@ Classical school .
Morris was slowly abandoning painting , recognising that his work lacked a sense of movement ; none of his paintings are dated later than 1862 . Instead he focused his energies on designing wallpaper patterns , the first being " Trellis " , designed in 1862 . His designs would be produced from 1864 by Jeffrey and Co. of Islington , who created them for the Firm under Morris 's supervision . Morris also retained an active interest in various groups , joining the Hogarth Club , the Mediaeval Society , and the Corps of Artist Volunteers , the latter being in contrast to his later pacifism .
Meanwhile , Morris 's family continued to grow . In January 1861 , Morris and Janey 's first daughter was born : named Jane Alice Morris , she was commonly known as " Jenny " . Jenny was followed in March 1862 by the birth of their second daughter , Mary " May " Morris . Morris was a caring father to his daughters , and years later they both recounted having idyllic childhoods . However , there were problems in Morris 's marriage as Janey became increasingly close to Rossetti , who often painted her . It is unknown if their affair was ever sexual , although by this point other members of the group were noticing Rossetti and Janey 's closeness .
Imagining the creation of an artistic community at Upton , Morris helped develop plans for a second house to be constructed adjacent to Red House in which Burne @-@ Jones could live with his family ; the plans were abandoned when Burne @-@ Jones ' son Philip died from scarlet fever . By 1864 , Morris had become increasingly tired of life at Red House , being particularly unhappy with the 3 to 4 hours spent commuting to his London workplace on a daily basis . He sold Red House , and in autumn 1865 moved with his family to No. 26 Queen Square in Bloomsbury , the same building that the Firm moved its base of operations to earlier in the summer .
= = = Queen Square and The Earthly Paradise : 1865 – 70 = = =
At Queen Square , the Morris family lived in a flat directly above the Firm 's shop . They were joined by Janey 's sister Bessie Burton and a number of household servants . Meanwhile , changes were afoot at the Firm as Faulkner left , and to replace him they employed a business manager , Warrington Taylor , who would remain with them till 1866 . Taylor pulled the Firm 's finances into order and spent much time controlling Morris and ensuring that he worked to schedule . During these years the Firm carried out a number of high @-@ profile designs ; from September 1866 to January 1867 , they redecorated the Armoury and Tapestry Room in St. James ' Palace , in the latter year also designing the Green Dining Room at the South Kensington Museum ( it is now the Morris Room at the Victoria and Albert Museum ) . The Firm 's work received increasing interest from people in the United States , resulting in Morris 's acquaintance with Henry James and Charles Eliot Norton . However , despite its success , the Firm was not turning over a large net profit , and this , coupled with the decreasing value of Morris ' stocks , meant that he had to decrease his spending .
Janey 's relationship with Rossetti had continued , and by the late 1860s gossip regarding their affair had spread about London , where they were regularly seen spending time together . Morris biographer Fiona MacCarthy argued that it was likely that Morris had learned of and accepted the existence of their affair by 1870 . In this year he developed an affectionate friendship with Aglaia <unk> , the daughter of wealthy Greek refugees , although there is no evidence that they had an affair . Meanwhile , Morris 's relationship with his mother had improved , and he would regularly take his wife and children to visit her at her house in Leyton . He also went on various holidays ; in the summer of 1866 he , Webb , and Taylor toured the churches of northern France .
In August 1866 Morris joined the Burne @-@ Jones family on their holiday in Lymington , while in August 1867 both families holidayed together in Oxford . In August 1867 the Morrises holidayed in Southwold , Suffolk , while in the summer of 1869 Morris took his wife to Bad Ems in Rhineland @-@ Palatinate , central Germany , where it was hoped that the local health waters would aid her ailments . While there , he enjoyed walks in the countryside and focused on writing poetry .
Morris had continued to devote much time to writing poetry . In 1867 Bell and Dandy published Morris 's epic poem , The Life and Death of Jason , at his own expense . The book was a retelling of the ancient Greek myth of the hero Jason and his quest to find the Golden Fleece . In contrast to Morris 's former publication , The Life and Death of Jason was well received , resulting in the publishers paying Morris a fee for the second edition . From 1865 to 1870 , Morris worked on another epic poem , The Earthly Paradise . Designed as a homage to Chaucer , it consisted of 24 stories , adopted from an array of different cultures , and each by a different narrator ; set in the late 14th century , the synopsis revolved around a group of Norsemen who flee the Black Death by sailing away from Europe , on the way discovering an island where the inhabitants continue to venerate the ancient Greek gods . Published in four parts by F. S. Ellis , it soon gained a cult following and established Morris ' reputation as a major poet .
= = = Kelmscott Manor and Iceland : 1870 – 75 = = =
By 1870 , Morris had become a public figure in Britain , resulting in repeated press requests for photographs , which he despised . That year , he also reluctantly agreed to sit for a portrait by establishment painter George Frederic Watts . Morris was keenly interested in Icelandic literature , having befriended the Icelandic theologian Eiríkr Magnússon . Together they produced prose translations of the Eddas and Sagas for publication in English . Morris also developed a keen interest in creating hand @-@ written illuminated manuscripts , producing 18 such books between 1870 and 1875 , the first of which was A Book of Verse , completed as a birthday present for Georgina Burne @-@ Jones . 12 of these 18 were handwritten copies of Nordic tales such as Halfdan the Black , Frithiof the Bold , and The Dwellers of <unk> . Morris deemed calligraphy to be an art form , and taught himself both Roman and italic script , as well as learning how to produce gilded letters . In November 1872 he published Love is Enough , a poetic drama based on a story in the Medieval Welsh text , the Mabinogion . Illustrated with Burne @-@ Jones woodcuts , it was not a popular success . By 1871 , he had begun work on a novel set in the present , The Novel on Blue Paper , which was about a love triangle ; it would remain unfinished and Morris later asserted that it was not well written .
By early summer 1871 , Morris began to search for a house outside London where his children could spend time away from the city 's pollution . He settled on Kelmscott Manor in the village of Kelmscott , Oxfordshire , obtaining a joint tenancy on the building with Rossetti in June . Morris adored the building , which was constructed circa 1570 , and would spend much time in the local countryside . Conversely , Rossetti would be unhappy at Kelmscott , and eventually suffered a mental breakdown . Morris divided his time between London and Kelmscott , however when Rossetti was there he would not spend more than three days at a time at the latter . He was also fed up with his family home in Queen Square , deciding to obtain a new house in London . Although retaining a personal bedroom and study at Queen Square , he relocated his family to <unk> House in Turnham Green Road , West London , in January 1873 . This allowed him to be far closer to the home of Burne @-@ Jones , with the duo meeting on almost every Sunday morning for the rest of Morris ' life .
Leaving Jane and his children with Rossetti at Kelmscott , in July 1871 Morris left for Iceland with Faulkner , W.H. Evans , and Magnússon . Sailing from the Scottish port of Granton aboard a Danish mail boat , they proceeded to the island via Tórshavn in the Faroe Islands before arriving at Reykjavik , where they disembarked . There they met the President of the Althing , Jón Sigurðsson , with Morris being sympathetic to the Icelandic independence movement . From there , they proceeded by Icelandic horse along the south coast to <unk> , <unk> , Geysir , Þingvellir , and then back to <unk> , where they departed back to Britain in September . In April 1873 , Morris and Burne @-@ Jones holidayed in Italy , visiting Florence and Siena . Although generally disliking the country , Morris was interested in the Florentine Gothic architecture . Soon after , in July , Morris returned to Iceland , revisiting many of the sites he had previously seen , but then proceeding north to Varna glacier and <unk> . His two visits to the country profoundly influenced him , in particular in his growing leftist opinions ; he would comment that these trips made him realise that " the most grinding poverty is a trifling evil compared with the inequality of classes . "
Morris and Burne @-@ Jones then spent time with one of the Firm 's patrons , the wealthy George Howard , 9th Earl of Carlisle and his wife Rosalind , at their Medieval home in <unk> Castle , Cumberland . In July 1874 , the Morris family then took Burne @-@ Jones ' two children with them on their holiday to Bruges , Belgium . However , by this point Morris ' friendship with Rossetti had seriously eroded , and in July 1874 their acrimonious falling out led Rossetti to leave Kelmscott , with Morris ' publisher F.S. Ellis taking his place . With the company 's other partners drifting off to work on other projects , Morris decided to consolidate his own control of the Firm and become sole proprietor and manager . In March 1875 , he paid £ 1000 each in compensation to Rossetti , Brown , and Marshall , although the other partners waived their claims to financial compensation . That month , the Firm was officially disbanded and replaced by Morris & Co , although Burne @-@ Jones and Webb would continue to produce designs for it in future . This accomplished , he resigned his directorship of the Devon Great Consols , selling his remaining shares in the company .
= = = Textile experimentation and political embrace : 1875 – 80 = = =
Now in complete control of the Firm , Morris took an increased interest in the process of textile dyeing and entered into a co @-@ operative agreement with Thomas Wardle , a silk dyer who operated the <unk> Works in Leek , Staffordshire . As a result , Morris would spend time with Wardle at his home on various occasions between summer 1875 and spring 1878 . Deeming the colours to be of inferior quality , Morris rejected the chemical aniline dyes which were then predominant , instead emphasising the revival of organic dyes , such as indigo for blue , walnut shells and roots for brown , and cochineal , kermes , and madder for red . Living and working in this industrial environment , he gained a personal understanding of production and the lives of the proletariat , and was disgusted by the poor living conditions of workers and the pollution caused by industry ; these factors greatly influenced his political views . After learning the skills of dyeing , in the late 1870s Morris turned his attention to weaving , experimenting with silk weaving at Queen 's Square .
In the Spring of 1877 , the Firm opened a store at No. 449 Oxford Street and obtained new staff who were able to improve its professionalism ; as a result , sales increased and its popularity grew . By 1880 , Morris & Co. had become a household name , having become very popular with Britain 's upper and middle classes . The Firm was obtaining increasing numbers of commissions from aristocrats , wealthy <unk> , and provincial entrepreneurs , with Morris furnishing parts of St. James ' Palace and the chapel at Eaton Hall . As a result of his growing sympathy for the working @-@ classes and poor , Morris felt personally conflicted in serving the interests of these individuals , privately describing it as " ministering to the swinish luxury of the rich " .
Continuing with his literary output , Morris translated his own version of Virgil 's Aeneid , titling it The <unk> of Vergil ( 1876 ) . Although many translations were already available , often produced by trained Classicists , Morris claimed that his unique perspective was as " a poet not a pedant " . He also continued producing translations of Icelandic tales with Magnússon , including Three Northern Love Stories ( 1875 ) and <unk> Saga ( 1876 ) . In 1877 Morris was approached by Oxford University and offered the largely honorary position of Professor of Poetry . He declined , asserting that he felt unqualified , knowing little about scholarship on the theory of poetry .
In summer 1876 Jenny Morris was diagnosed with epilepsy . Refusing to allow her to be societally marginalised or institutionalised , as was common in the period , Morris insisted that she be cared for by the family . When Janey took May and Jenny to Oneglia in Italy , the latter suffered a serious seizure , with Morris rushing to the country to see her . They then proceeded to visit a number of other cities , including Venice , Padua , and Verona , with Morris attaining a greater appreciation of the country than he had on his previous trip . In April 1879 Morris moved the family home again , this time renting an 18th @-@ century mansion on Hammersmith 's Upper Mall in West London . Owned by the novelist George MacDonald , Morris would name it Kelmscott House and re @-@ decorate it according to his own taste . In the House 's grounds he set up a workshop , focusing on the production of hand @-@ knotted carpets . Excited that both of his homes were along the course of the River Thames , in August 1880 he and his family took a boat trip along the river from Kelmscott House to Kelmscott Manor .
Morris became politically active in this period , coming to be associated with the <unk> current within British liberalism . He joined the Eastern Question Association ( EQA ) and was appointed the group 's treasurer in November 1876 . EQA had been founded by campaigners associated with the centre @-@ left Liberal Party who opposed Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli 's alliance with the Ottoman Empire ; the Association highlighted the Ottoman massacre of Bulgarians and feared that the alliance would lead Disraeli to join the Ottomans in going to war with the Russian Empire . Morris took an active role in the EQA campaign , authoring the lyrics for the song " Wake , London Lads ! " to be sung at a rally against military intervention . Morris eventually became disillusioned with the EQA , describing it as being " full of wretched little personalities " . He nevertheless joined a regrouping of predominantly working @-@ class EQA activists , the National Liberal League , becoming their treasurer in summer 1879 ; the group remained small and politically ineffective , with Morris resigning as treasurer in late 1881 , shortly before the group 's collapse .
However , his discontent with the British liberal movement grew following the election of the Liberal Party 's William Ewart Gladstone to the Premiership in 1880 . Morris was particularly angered that Gladstone 's government did not reverse the Disraeli regime 's occupation of the Transvaal , introduced the Coercion Bill , and oversaw the Bombardment of Alexandria . Morris later related that while he had once believed that " one might further real <unk> progress by doing what one could on the lines of ordinary middle @-@ class Radicalism " , following Gladstone 's election he came to realise " that Radicalism is on the wrong line , so to say , and will never <unk> [ sic ] into anything more than Radicalism : in fact that it is made for and by the middle classes and will always be under the control of rich capitalists .
In 1876 , Morris visited Burford Church in Oxfordshire , where he was appalled at the restoration conducted by his old mentor , G.E. Street . He recognised that these programs of architectural restoration led to the destruction or major alteration of genuinely old features in order to replace them with " sham old " features , something which appalled him . To combat the increasing trend for restoration , in March 1877 he founded the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings ( SPAB ) , which he personally referred to as " Anti @-@ Scrape " . Adopting the role of honorary secretary and treasurer , most of the other early members of SPAB were his friends , while the group 's program was rooted in Ruskin 's The Seven Lamps of Architecture ( 1849 ) . As part of SPAB 's campaign , Morris tried to build connections with art and antiquarian societies and the custodians of old buildings , and also contacted the press to highlight his cause . He was particularly strong in denouncing the ongoing restoration of Tewkesbury Abbey and was vociferous in denouncing the architects responsible , something that deeply upset Street . Turning SPAB 's attention abroad , in Autumn 1879 Morris launched a campaign to protect St Mark 's Basilica in Venice from restoration , garnering a petition with 2000 signatures , among whom were Disraeli , Gladstone , and Ruskin .
= = Later life = =
= = = Merton Abbey and the Democratic Federation : 1881 – 84 = = =
In summer 1881 , Morris took out a lease on the seven @-@ acre former silk weaving factory at Merton Abbey Mills , in Merton , Southwest London . Moving his workshops to the site , the premises were used for weaving , dyeing , and creating stained glass ; within three years , 100 craftsmen would be employed there . Working conditions at the Abbey were better than at most Victorian factories . However , despite Morris 's ideals , there was little opportunity for the workers to display their own individual creativity . Morris had initiated a system of profit sharing among the Firm 's upper clerks , however this did not include the majority of workers , who were instead employed on a piecework basis . Morris was aware that , in retaining the division between employer and employed , the company failed to live up to his own egalitarian ideals , but defended this , asserting that it was impossible to run a socialist company within a competitive capitalist economy . The Firm itself was expanding , opening up a store in Manchester in 1883 and holding a stand at that year 's Foreign Fair in Boston .
Janey 's relationship with Rossetti had continued through a correspondence and occasional visits , although she found him extremely paranoid and was upset by his addiction to chloral . She last saw him in 1881 , and he died in April the following year . Morris described his mixed feelings toward his deceased friend by stating that he had " some of the very greatest qualities of genius , most of them indeed ; what a great man he would have been but for the arrogant misanthropy which marred his work , and killed him before his time " . In August 1883 , Janey would be introduced to the poet Wilfrid Scawen Blunt , with whom she embarked on a second affair , which Morris might have been aware of .
In January 1881 Morris was involved in the establishment of the Radical Union , an amalgam of radical working @-@ class groups which hoped to rival the Liberals , and became a member of its executive committee . However , he soon rejected liberal radicalism completely and moved toward socialism . In this period , British socialism was a small , fledgling and vaguely defined movement , with only a few hundred adherents . Britain 's first socialist party , the Democratic Federation ( DF ) , had been founded by Henry Hyndman , an adherent of the socio @-@ political ideology of Marxism , with Morris joining the DF in January 1883 . Morris began to read voraciously on the subject of socialism , including Henry George 's Progress and Poverty , Alfred Russel Wallace 's Land Nationalisation , and Karl Marx 's Das Kapital , although admitted that Marx 's economic analysis of capitalism gave him " agonies of confusion on the brain " . Instead he preferred the writings of William Cobbett and Sergius Stepniak , although he also read the critique of socialism produced by John Stuart Mill .
In May 1883 , Morris was appointed to the DF 's executive , and was soon elected to the position of treasurer . <unk> himself to the socialist cause , he regularly lectured at meetings across Britain , hoping to gain more converts , although was regularly criticised for doing so by the mainstream press . In November 1883 he was invited to speak at University College , Oxford , on the subject of " Democracy and Art " and there began espousing socialism ; this shocked and embarrassed many members of staff , earning national press coverage . With other DF members , he travelled to Blackburn , Lancashire in February 1884 amid the great cotton strike , where he lectured on socialism to the strikers . The following month he marched in a central London demonstration commemorating the first anniversary of Marx 's death and the thirteenth anniversary of the Paris Commune .
Morris aided the DF using his artistic and literary talents ; he designed the group 's membership card , and helped author their manifesto , Socialism Made Plain , in which they demanded improved housing for workers , free compulsory education for all children , free school meals , an eight @-@ hour working day , the abolition of national debt , nationalisation of land , banks , and railways , and the organisation of agriculture and industry under state control and co @-@ operative principles . Some of his DF comrades found it difficult to reconcile his socialist values with his position as proprietor of the Firm , although he was widely admired as a man of integrity . The DF began publishing a weekly newspaper , Justice , which soon faced financial losses that Morris covered . Morris also regularly contributed articles to the newspaper , in doing so befriending another contributor , George Bernard Shaw .
His socialist activism monopolised his time , forcing him to abandon a translation of the Persian Shahnameh . It also led to him seeing far less of Burne @-@ Jones , with whom he had strong political differences ; although once a republican , Burne @-@ Jones had become increasingly conservative , and felt that the DF were exploiting Morris for his talents and influence . While Morris devoted much time to trying to convert his friends to the cause , of Morris ' circle of artistic comrades , only Webb and Faulkner fully embraced socialism , while Swinburne expressed his sympathy with it .
In 1884 the DF renamed itself the Social Democratic Federation ( SDF ) and underwent an internal reorganisation . However , the group was facing an internal schism between those ( such as Hyndman ) , who argued for a parliamentary path toward socialism , and those ( like Morris ) who deemed the Houses of Parliament intrinsically corrupt and capitalist . Personal issues between Morris and Hyndman were exacerbated by their attitude to British foreign policy ; Morris was staunchly anti @-@ imperialist while Hyndman expressed patriotic sentiment encouraging some foreign intervention . The division between the two groups developed into open conflict , with the majority of activists sharing Morris ' position . In December 1884 Morris and his supporters – most notably Ernest Belfort Bax and Edward Aveling – left the SDF ; the first major schism of the British socialist movement .
= = = Socialist League : 1884 – 89 = = =
In December 1884 , Morris founded the Socialist League ( SL ) with other SDF defectors . He composed the SL 's manifesto with Bax , describing their position as that of " Revolutionary International Socialism " , advocating proletarian internationalism and world revolution while rejecting the concept of socialism in one country . In this , he committed himself to " making Socialists " by educating , organising , and agitating to establish a strong socialist movement ; calling on activists to boycott elections , he hoped that socialists would take part in a proletariat revolution and help to establish a socialist society . Bax taught Morris more about Marxism , and introduced him to Marx 's collaborator , Friedrich Engels ; Engels thought Morris honest but lacking in practical skills to aid the proletariat revolution . Morris remained in contact with other sectors of London 's far left community , being a regular at the socialist International Club in Shoreditch , East London , however he avoided the recently created Fabian Society , deeming it too middle @-@ class . Although a Marxist , he befriended prominent anarchist activists Stepniak and Peter Kropotkin , and came to be influenced by their anarchist views , to the extent that biographer Fiona MacCarthy described his approach as being " Marxism with visionary libertarianism " .
As the leading figure in the League Morris embarked on a series of speeches and talks on street corners , in working men 's clubs , and in lecture theatres across England and Scotland . He also visited Dublin , there offering his support for Irish nationalism , and formed a branch of the League at his Hammersmith house . By the time of their first conference in July 1885 , the League had eight branches across England and had affiliations with several socialist groups in Scotland . However , as the British socialist movement grew it faced increased opposition from the establishment , with police frequently arresting and intimidating activists . To combat this , the League joined a Defence Club with other socialist groups , including the SDF , for which Morris was appointed treasurer . Morris was passionate in denouncing the " bullying and hectoring " that he felt socialists faced from the police , and on one occasion was arrested after fighting back against a police officer ; a magistrate dismissed the charges . The Black Monday riots of February 1886 led to increased political repression against left @-@ wing agitators , and in July Morris was arrested and fined for public obstruction while preaching socialism on the streets .
Morris oversaw production of the League 's monthly — soon to become weekly — newspaper , Commonweal , serving as its editor for six years , during which time he kept it financially afloat . First published in February 1885 , it would contain contributions from such prominent socialists as Engels , Shaw , Paul Lafargue , Wilhelm Liebknecht , and Karl Kautsky , with Morris also regularly writing articles and poems for it . In Commonweal he serialised a 13 @-@ episode poem , The Pilgrims of Hope , which was set in the period of the Paris Commune . From November 1886 to January 1887 , Morris ' novel , A Dream of John Ball , was serialised in Commonweal . Set in Kent during the Peasants ' Revolt of 1381 , it contained strong socialist themes although proved popular among those of different ideological viewpoints , resulting in its publication in book form by Reeves and Turner in 1888 . Shortly after , a collection of Morris ' essays , Signs of Change , was published .
From January to October 1890 , Morris serialised his novel , News from Nowhere , in Commonweal , resulting in improved circulation for the paper . In March 1891 it was published in book form , before being translated into French , Italian , and German by 1898 and becoming a classic among Europe 's socialist community . Combining utopian socialism and soft science fiction , the book tells the tale of a contemporary socialist , William Guest , who falls asleep and awakes in the mid @-@ 20th century , discovering a future society based on common ownership and democratic control of the means of production . In this society there is no private property , no big cities , no authority , no monetary system , no divorce , no courts , no prisons , and no class systems ; it was a depiction of Morris ' ideal socialist society .
Morris had also continued with his translation work ; in April 1887 , Reeves and Turner published the first volume of Morris ' translation of Homer 's Odyssey , with the second following in November . Venturing into new territory , Morris also authored and starred in a play , The Tables Turned ; Or <unk> Awakened , which was performed at a League meeting in November 1887 . It told the story of socialists who are put on trial in front of a corrupt judge ; the tale ends with the prisoners <unk> freed by a proletariat revolution . In June 1889 , Morris traveled to Paris as the League 's delegate to the International Socialist Working Men 's Congress , where his international standing was recognised by being chosen as English spokesman by the Congress committee . The Second International emerged from the Congress , although Morris was distraught at its chaotic and disorganised proceedings .
At the League 's Fourth Conference in May 1888 , factional divisions became increasingly apparent between Morris ' anti @-@ parliamentary socialists , the parliamentary socialists , and the anarchists ; the Bloomsbury Branch were expelled for supporting parliamentary action . Under the leadership of Charles Mowbray , the League 's anarchist wing were growing and called on the League to embrace violent action in trying to overthrow the capitalist system . By autumn 1889 the anarchists had taken over the League 's executive committee and Morris was stripped of the editorship of Commonweal in favour of the anarchist Frank Kitz . This alienated Morris from the League , which had also become a financial burden for him ; he had been subsidising its activities with £ 500 a year , a very large sum of money at the time . By the autumn of 1890 , Morris left the Socialist League , with his Hammersmith branch seceding to become the independent Hammersmith Socialist Society in November 1890 .
= = = The Kelmscott Press and Morris ' final years : 1889 – 96 = = =
The work of Morris & Co. continued during Morris 's final years , producing an array of stained glass windows designed by Burne @-@ Jones and the six narrative tapestry panels depicting the quest for the Holy Grail for Stanmore Hall , Shropshire . Morris 's influence on Britain 's artistic community became increasingly apparent as the Art Workers ' Guild was founded in 1884 , although , at the time , he was too preoccupied with his socialist activism to pay it any attention . Although the proposal faced some opposition , Morris would be elected to the Guild in 1888 , and was elected to the position of master in 1892 . Morris similarly did not offer initial support for the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society , but changed his opinion after the success of their first exhibit , held in Regents Street in October 1888 . Giving lectures on tapestries for the group , in 1892 he would be elected president . At this time , Morris also re @-@ focused his attentions on SPAB campaigning ; those causes he championed including the preservation of St. Mary 's Church in Oxford , Blythburgh Church in Suffolk , Peterborough Cathedral , and Rouen Cathedral .
Although his socialist activism had decreased , he remained involved with the Hammersmith Socialist Society , and in October 1891 oversaw the creation of a short @-@ lived newsletter , the Hammersmith Socialist Record . Coming to oppose factionalism within the socialist movement , he sought to rebuild his relationship with the SDF , appearing as a guest lecturer at some of their events , and supporting SDF candidate George Lansbury when he stood in the Wandsworth by @-@ election of February 1894 . In 1893 the Hammersmith Socialist Society co @-@ founded the Joint Committee of Socialist Bodies with representatives of the SDF and Fabian Society ; Morris helped draw up its " Manifesto of English Socialists " . He offered support for far left activists on trial , including a number of militant anarchists whose violent tactics he nevertheless denounced . He also began using the term " communism " for the first time , stating that " Communism is in fact the completion of Socialism : when that ceases to be militant and becomes triumphant , it will be communism . " In December 1895 he gave his final open @-@ air talk at Stepniak 's funeral , where he spoke alongside prominent far left activists Eleanor Marx , Kier Hardie , and Errico Malatesta . Liberated from internal factional struggles , he retracted his anti @-@ Parliamentary position and worked for socialist unity , giving his last public lecture in January 1896 on the subject of " One Socialist Party . "
In December 1888 , the Chiswick Press published Morris ' The House of the Wolfings , a fantasy story set in Iron Age Europe which provides a reconstructed portrait of the lives of Germanic @-@ speaking Gothic tribes . It contained both prose and aspects of poetic verse . A sequel , The Roots of the Mountains , followed in 1890 . Over the coming years he would publish a number of other fantasy novels : The Story of the Glittering Plain ( 1890 ) , The Wood Beyond the World ( 1894 ) , Child Christopher and <unk> the Fair ( 1895 ) , The Well at the World 's End ( 1896 ) , The Water of the Wondrous Isles ( 1897 ) and The Sundering Flood ( 1898 ) . He also embarked on a translation of the Anglo @-@ Saxon tale , Beowulf ; because he could not fully understand Old English , his poetic translation was based largely on that already produced by Alfred John Wyatt . On publication , Morris ' Beowulf would be critically panned . Following the death of the sitting Poet Laureate of Great Britain and Ireland , Alfred , Lord Tennyson , in October 1892 , Morris was offered the position , but turned it down , disliking its associations with the monarchy and political establishment ; instead the position went to Alfred Austin .
In January 1891 , Morris began renting a cottage near to Kelmscott House , No. 16 Upper Mall in Hammersmith , which would serve as the first premises of the Kelmscott Press , before relocating to the neighbouring No. 14 in May , that same month in which the company was founded . Devoted to the production of books which he deemed beautiful , Morris was artistically influenced by the illustrated manuscripts and early printed books of Medieval and Early Modern Europe . Before publishing its first work , Morris ensured that he had mastered the techniques of printing and secured supplies of hand @-@ made paper and vellum which would be necessary for production . Over the next seven years , they would publish 66 volumes . The first of these would be one of Morris ' own novels , The Story of the Glittering Plain , which was published in May 1891 and soon sold out . The Kelmscott Press would go on to publish 23 of Morris ' books , more than those of any other author . The press also published editions of works by Keats , Shelley , Ruskin , and Swinburne , as well as copies of various Medieval texts . A number of the Press ' books contained illustrations provided by Burne @-@ Jones . The Press ' magnum opus would be the Kelmscott Chaucer , which had taken years to complete and included 87 illustrations from Burne @-@ Jones . Morris still remained firmly in an employer relation with those working at the Press , although organised outings for them and paid them above average wages .
By the early 1890s , Morris was increasingly ill and living largely as an invalid ; aside from his gout , he also exhibited signs of epilepsy . In August 1891 , he took his daughter Jenny on a tour of Northern France to visit the Medieval churches and cathedrals . Back in England , he spent an increasing amount of time at Kelmscott Manor . Seeking treatment from the prominent doctor William Broadbent , he was prescribed a holiday in the coastal town of Folkestone . In December 1894 he was devastated upon learning of his mother 's death ; she had been 90 years old . In July 1896 , he went on a cruise to Norway with construction engineer John Carruthers , during which he visited <unk> and Trondheim ; during the trip his physical condition deteriorated and he began experiencing hallucinations . Returning to Kelmscott House , he became a complete invalid , being visited by friends and family , before dying of tuberculosis on the morning of 4 October 1896 . Obituaries appearing throughout the national press reflected that , at the time , Morris was widely recognised primarily as a poet . Mainstream press obituaries trivialised or dismissed his involvement in socialism , although the socialist press focused largely on this aspect of his career . His funeral was held on 6 October , during which his corpse was carried from Hammersmith to Paddington rail station , where it was transported to Oxford , and from there to Kelmscott , where it was buried in the churchyard of St. George 's Church .
= = Personal life = =
Morris ' biographer E.P. Thompson described him as having a " robust bearing , and a slight roll in his walk " , alongside a " rough beard " and " disordered hair " . The author Henry James described Morris as " short , burly , corpulent , very careless and unfinished in his dress ... He has a loud voice and a nervous restless manner and a perfectly unaffected and businesslike address . His talk indeed is wonderfully to the point and remarkable for clear good sense . " Morris ' first biographer Mackail described him as being both " a typical Englishman " and " a typical Londoner of the middle class " albeit one who was transformed into " something quite individual " through the " force of his genius " . MacCarthy described Morris ' lifestyle as being " late Victorian , mildly bohemian , but bourgeois " , with Mackail commenting that he exhibited many of the traits of the bourgeois Victorian class : " industrious , honest , fair @-@ minded up their lights , but <unk> and unsympathetic " . Although he generally disliked children , Morris also exhibited a strong sense of responsibility toward his family . Mackail nevertheless thought he " was interested in things much more than in people " and that while he did have " lasting friendships " and " deep affections " , he did not allow people to " penetrate to the central part of him . "
Politically , Morris was a staunch revolutionary socialist and anti @-@ imperialist , and although raised a Christian he came to identify as a non @-@ religious atheist . He came to reject state socialism and large centralized control , instead emphasising localised administration within a socialist society . Later political activist Derek Wall suggested that Morris could be classified as an <unk> . Morris was greatly influenced by Romanticism , with Thompson asserting that Romanticism was " bred into his bones , and formed his early consciousness . " Thompson argued that this " Romantic Revolt " was part of a " passionate protest against an intolerable social reality " , that of the industrial capitalism of Britain 's Victorian era . However , he believed that it led to little more than a " yearning nostalgia or a sweet complaint " and that Morris only became " a realist and a revolutionary " when he adopted socialism in 1882 . However , Mackail was of the opinion that Morris had an " innate Socialism " which had " penetrated and dominated all he did " throughout his life . Given the conflict between his personal and professional life and his socio @-@ political views , MacCarthy described Morris as " a conservative radical " .
Morris 's behaviour was often erratic . He was of a nervous disposition , and throughout his life relied on networks of male friends to aid him in dealing with this . Morris ' friends nicknamed him " Topsy " after a character in Uncle Tom 's Cabin . He had a wild temper , and when sufficiently enraged could suffer seizures and blackouts . Rossetti was known to taunt Morris with the intention of trying to enrage him for the amusement of himself and their other friends . Biographer Fiona MacCarthy suggests that Morris might have suffered from a form of Tourette 's syndrome as he exhibited some of the symptoms . In later life he suffered from gout , a common complaint among middle @-@ class males in the Victorian period . Morris 's ethos was that one should " have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful , or believe to be beautiful . " He also held to the view that " No work which cannot be done with pleasure in the doing is worth doing " , and adopted as his personal motto " If I can " from the fifteenth @-@ century Flemish painter Jan van Eyck .
= = Work = =
= = = Literature = = =
William Morris was a prolific writer of poetry , fiction , essays , and translations of ancient and medieval texts . His first poems were published when he was 24 years old , and he was polishing his final novel , The Sundering Flood , at the time of his death . His daughter May 's edition of Morris 's Collected Works ( 1910 – 1915 ) runs to 24 volumes , and two more were published in 1936 .
Morris began publishing poetry and short stories in 1856 through the Oxford and Cambridge Magazine which he founded with his friends and financed while at university . His first volume , The Defence of Guenevere and Other Poems ( 1858 ) , was the first book of Pre @-@ Raphaelite poetry to be published . The dark poems , set in a sombre world of violence , were coolly received by the critics , and he was discouraged from publishing more for a number of years . " The Haystack in the Floods " , one of the poems in that collection , is probably now one of his better @-@ known poems . It is a grimly realistic piece set during the Hundred Years War in which the doomed lovers <unk> and Robert have a last parting in a convincingly portrayed rain @-@ swept countryside . One early minor poem was " Masters in this Hall " ( 1860 ) , a Christmas carol written to an old French tune . Another Christmas @-@ themed poem is " The Snow in the Street " , adapted from " The Land East of the Sun and West of the Moon " in The Earthly Paradise .
Morris met Eiríkr Magnússon in 1868 , and began to learn the Icelandic language from him . Morris published translations of The Saga of Gunnlaug Worm @-@ Tongue and <unk> Saga in 1869 , and the Story of the Volsungs and Niblungs in 1870 . An additional volume was published under the title of Three Northern Love Stories in 1873 .
In the last nine years of his life , Morris wrote a series of imaginative fictions usually referred to as the " prose romances " . These novels – including The Wood Beyond the World and The Well at the World 's End – have been credited as important milestones in the history of fantasy fiction , because , while other writers wrote of foreign lands , or of dream worlds , or the future ( as Morris did in News from Nowhere ) , Morris 's works were the first to be set in an entirely invented fantasy world . These were attempts to revive the genre of medieval romance , and written in imitation of medieval prose . Morris 's prose style in these novels has been praised by Edward James , who described them as " among the most lyrical and enchanting fantasies in the English language . "
On the other hand , L. Sprague de Camp considered Morris 's fantasies to be not wholly successful , partly because Morris eschewed many literary techniques from later eras . In particular , De Camp argued the plots of the novels are heavily driven by coincidence ; while many things just happened in the romances , the novels are still weakened by the dependence on it . Nevertheless , large subgenres of the field of fantasy have sprung from the romance genre , but indirectly , through their writers ' imitation of William Morris .
Early fantasy writers like Lord Dunsany , E. R. Eddison and James Branch Cabell were familiar with Morris 's romances . The Wood Beyond the World is considered to have heavily influenced C. S. Lewis ' Narnia series , while J. R. R. Tolkien was inspired by Morris 's reconstructions of early Germanic life in The House of the Wolfings and The Roots of the Mountains . The young Tolkien attempted a retelling of the story of Kullervo from the Kalevala in the style of The House of the Wolfings ; Tolkien considered much of his literary work to have been inspired by an early reading of Morris , even suggesting that he was unable to better Morris 's work ; the names of characters such as " Gandolf " and the horse <unk> appear in The Well at the World 's End .
Sir Henry Newbolt 's medieval allegorical novel , <unk> , was influenced by Morris 's fantasies . James Joyce also drew inspiration from his work .
= = = Textile design = = =
During his lifetime , Morris produced items in a range of crafts , mainly those to do with furnishing , including over 600 designs for wall @-@ paper , textiles , and embroideries , over 150 for stained glass windows , three typefaces , and around 650 borders and ornamentations for the Kelmscott Press . He emphasised the idea that the design and production of an item should not be divorced from one another , and that where possible those creating items should be designer @-@ craftsmen , thereby both designing and manufacturing their goods . In the field of textile design , Morris revived a number of dead techniques , and insisted on the use of good quality raw materials , almost all natural dyes , and hand processing . He also observed the natural world first hand to gain a basis for his designs , and insisted on learning the techniques of production prior to producing a design .
Mackail asserted that Morris became " a manufacturer not because he wished to make money , but because he wished to make the things he manufactured . " Morris & Co . ' s designs were fashionable among Britain 's upper and middle @-@ classes , with biographer Fiona MacCarthy asserting that they had become " the safe choice of the intellectual classes , an exercise in political <unk> . " The company 's unique selling point was the range of different items that it produced , as well as the ethos of artistic control over production that it emphasised .
It is likely that much of Morris 's preference for medieval textiles was formed – or crystallised – during his brief apprenticeship with G. E. Street . Street had co @-@ written a book on Ecclesiastical Embroidery in 1848 , and was a staunch advocate of abandoning faddish woolen work on canvas in favour of more expressive embroidery techniques based on Opus Anglicanum , a surface embroidery technique popular in medieval England .
He was also fond of hand knotted Persian carpets and advised the South Kensington Museum in the acquisition of fine Kerman carpets .
Morris taught himself embroidery , working with wool on a frame custom @-@ built from an old example . Once he had mastered the technique he trained his wife Jane , her sister Bessie Burden and others to execute designs to his specifications . When " embroideries of all kinds " were offered through Morris , Marshall , Faulkner & Co. catalogues , church embroidery became and remained an important line of business for its successor companies into the twentieth century . By the 1870s , the firm was offering both embroidery patterns and finished works . Following in Street 's footsteps , Morris became active in the growing movement to return originality and mastery of technique to embroidery , and was one of the first designers associated with the Royal School of Art Needlework with its aim to " restore Ornamental Needlework for secular purposes to the high place it once held among decorative arts . "
Morris took up the practical art of dyeing as a necessary adjunct of his manufacturing business . He spent much of his time at Staffordshire dye works mastering the processes of that art and making experiments in the revival of old or discovery of new methods . One result of these experiments was to reinstate indigo dyeing as a practical industry and generally to renew the use of those vegetable dyes , such as the red derived from madder , which had been driven almost out of use by the anilines . Dyeing of wools , silks , and cottons was the necessary preliminary to what he had much at heart , the production of woven and printed fabrics of the highest excellence ; and the period of incessant work at the dye @-@ vat ( 1875 – 76 ) was followed by a period during which he was absorbed in the production of textiles ( 1877 – 78 ) , and more especially in the revival of carpet @-@ weaving as a fine art .
Morris 's patterns for woven textiles , some of which were also machine made under ordinary commercial conditions , included intricate double @-@ woven furnishing fabrics in which two sets of warps and wefts are interlinked to create complex gradations of colour and texture . Morris long dreamed of weaving tapestries in the medieval manner , which he called " the noblest of the weaving arts . " In September 1879 he finished his first solo effort , a small piece called " Cabbage and Vine " .
= = Legacy = =
President of the William Morris Society Hans Brill referred to Morris as " one of the outstanding figures of the nineteenth century " , while Linda Parry termed him the " single most important figure in British textile production " . At the time of Morris ' death , his poetry was known internationally and his company 's products were found all over the world . In his lifetime , he was best known as a poet , although by the late twentieth @-@ century he was primarily known as a designer of wallpapers and fabrics .
He was a major contributor to the revival of traditional British textile arts and methods of production . Morris ' ethos of production was an influence on Bauhaus . Another aspect of Morris 's <unk> was his desire to protect the natural world from the ravages of pollution and industrialism , causing some historians of the green movement to regard Morris as an important forerunner of modern environmentalism .