The Water of the Wondrous Isles
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| The Water of the Wondrous Isles | |
| Author | William Morris |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Fantasy novel |
| Publisher | Kelmscott Press |
| Publication date | 1897 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback) |
| Pages | 340 pp |
| ISBN | NA |
The Water of the Wondrous Isles is a fantasy novel by William Morris, perhaps the first modern fantasy writer to unite an imaginary world with the element of the supernatural, and thus the precursor of much of present-day fantasy literature.[1] It was first published in hardcover by Morris' Kelmscott Press in 1897. Its importance in the history of fantasy literature was recognized by its republication by Ballantine Books as the thirty-eighth volume of the celebrated Ballantine Adult Fantasy series in November, 1971. The Ballantine edition includes an introduction by Lin Carter.
Morris considered his fantasies a revival of the medieval tradition of chivalrous romances, in consequence they tend to have sprawling plots of strung-together adventures.
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
Stolen as a child and raised in the wood of Evilshaw as servant to a witch, Birdalone ultimately escapes in her captress's magical boat, in which she travels to a succession of strange and wonderful islands. During much of the first quarter of the novel, Birdalone is naked, a highly unusual detail in Victorian fiction. She is occasionally assisted out of jams by Habundia, her lookalike fairy godmother. She encounters three maidens who are held prisoner by another witch. They await deliverance by their lovers, the three paladins of the Castle of the Quest. Birdalone is clad by the maidens and seeks out their heroes, and the story goes into high gear as they set out to rescue the women. Ultimately, one lady is reunited with her knight, another finds a new love when her knight is killed, and the last is left to mourn as her champion throws her over for Birdalone.
[edit] Copyright
The copyright for this story has expired in the United States, and thus now resides in the public domain there. The text is available via Project Gutenberg.
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ L. Sprague de Camp, Literary Swordsmen and Sorcerers: The Makers of Heroic Fantasy, p 40 ISBN 0-87054-076-9
[edit] References
- LeMire, Eugene D. (2006). A Bibliography of William Morris. New Castle, Del.: Oak Knoll Press, 212-216.
[edit] External links
- The Water of the Wondrous Isles, available at Project Gutenberg.
