News From Nowhere

by William Morris, David Leopold (Editor)

Overview

News from Nowhere(1890) is the best-known prose work of William Morris and the only significant English utopia to be written since Thomas More's. The novel describes the encounter between a visitor from the nineteenth century, William Guest, and a decentralized and humane socialist future. Set over a century after a revolutionary upheaval in 1952, these "Chapters from a Utopian Romance" recount his journey across London and up the Thames to Kelmscott Manor, Morris's own country house in Oxfordshire. Drawing on the work of John Ruskin and Karl Marx, Morris's book is not only an evocative statement of his egalitarian convictions but also a distinctive contribution to the utopian tradition. Morris's rejection of state socialism and his ambition to transform the relationship between humankind and the natural world, give News from Nowhere a particular resonance for modern readers. This text is based on the 1891 version, incorporating the extensive revisions made by Morris to the first edition.

About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199539192
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	10/04/2009
Series:	Oxford World's Classics Series
Edition description:	Reissue
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.70(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

David Leopold is Lecturer in Political Theory at Christ Church and Merton College, Oxford University.

Table of Contents

	Introductory Note: How I Became a Socialist	v
I.	Discussion and Bed	1
II.	A Morning Bath	3
III.	The Guest House and Breakfast Therein	10
IV.	A Market by the Way	19
V.	Children on the Road	22
VI.	A Little Shopping	28
VII.	Trafalgar Square	35
VIII.	An Old Friend	42
IX.	Concerning Love	46
X.	Questions and Answers	56
XI.	Concerning Government	66
XII.	Concerning the Arrangement of Life	71
XIII.	Concerning Politics	76
XIV.	How Matters are Managed	76
XV.	On the Lack of Incentive to Labour in a Communist Society	81
XVI.	Dinner in the Hall of the Bloomsbury Market	89
XVII.	How the Change Came	92
XVIII.	The Beginning of the New Life	117
XIX.	The Drive Back to Hammersmith	122
XX.	The Hammersmith Guest-House Again	126
XXI.	Going up the River	128
XXII.	Hampton Court. And a Praiser of Past Times	130
XXIII.	An Early Morning by Runnymede	139
XXIV.	Up the Thames: the Second Day	144
XXV.	The Third Day on the Thames	152
XXVI.	The Obstinate Refusers	156
XXVII.	The Upper Waters	160
XXVIII.	The Little River	170
XXIX.	A Resting-Place on the Upper Thames	174
XXX.	The Journey's End	178
XXXI.	An Old House Amongst New Folk	183
XXXII.	The Feast's Beginning--The End	188

Editorial Reviews

Stephen Arata, through his insightful introduction and his careful selection of documents, has created an invaluable edition of News from Nowhere, one of the seminal texts of the nineteenth century.” — Peter Stansky, Stanford University

“This astute and long overdue reappraisal provides a lucid overview and a wealth of contextual information. An excellent resource.” — Shannon L. Rogers, Saint Joseph’s University, Editor, Newsletter of the William Morris Society in the United States

“Stephen Arata provides an especially informative account of the social here and now out of which an imagined Nowhere emerged. The rich selection of accompanying texts from British and continental radicals is particularly valuable and full of surprises. This is a fine edition for a new century that invites us to read Morris’s utopia freshly while it provides ample material to help us do so.” — Elizabeth Helsinger, University of Chicago

From the Publisher

"Stephen Arata provides an especially informative account of the social here and now out of which an imagined Nowhere emerged. The rich selection of accompanying texts from British and continental radicals is particularly valuable and full of surprises. This is a fine edition for a new century that invites us to read Morris’s utopia freshly while it provides ample material to help us do so."

Elizabeth Helsinger University of Chicago

"This astute and long overdue reappraisal provides a lucid overview and a wealth of contextual information. An excellent resource."

Shannon L. Rogers

"Stephen Arata, through his insightful introduction and his careful selection of documents, has created an invaluable edition of News from Nowhere, one of the seminal texts of the nineteenth century."

Peter Stansky Stanford University