 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 . 
