 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 unexpansive 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 . " 
