The Well at the World's End: Volume I

This, the first half of William Morris's longest medieval romance pastiche, is as fine as anything he wrote, save perhaps some of his best poetry. Told in a deliberately (but lightly) archaic style, this first volume is a work of suggestive mystery. It is the mystery and romance of Place new to the protagonist and new to the reader, but very old, otherwise. That feeling of being lost? It's shot through on every page of this great work. For that alone, it's worth reading at least once. I am considering reading it again. Once every quarter century seems about right.

William Morris was the epitome of a Renaissance man. He was an architect, sculptor and artist. He designed furniture and fabrics and invented labour saving devices. "The Well at the World's End, his literary masterwork, is a commentary on life. The Well itself is a chimera, a test, indeed, the final deadly test for those few who find it. But it is the Journey that matters, the Road to the Well, the quest that encounters all the diversions of life itself and gets there despite the adventures, the threats, the dangers and the temptations." (from the frontispiece) Fascinating stuff.

ORIGINALLY POSTED AT Fantasy Literature.

William Morris, a textile artist, was enamored of medieval chivalric romances, so The Well at the World's End, published in 1896, is his contribution to that dying literary genre. Thus, you’ll find heroic knights on quests, damsels in distress, and scary beasts to slay. The novel is even written in archaic language. What’s different and noteworthy about The Well at the World's End, though, is that it’s set in an entirely made-up world. For this reason, William Morris is often considered the father of high fantasy literature and, not surprisingly, both J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis credit him as a major influence on their own writing.

In The Well at the World's End, Ralph of Upmeads, youngest show more son of the King of Upmeads, leaves home (where nothing exciting ever happens) without permission and sets out looking for adventure. When he hears rumors of a well that exudes water with magical properties, he is intrigued and begins his quest. Along the way, he travels through various towns and wildernesses and meets — and is sometimes led astray by — a host of interesting people including a mysterious knight, a beautiful woman who may be a goddess, a treacherous servant, a brave tavern wench, a barbarian warrior, a solitary sage, and a sadistic king. Many exciting adventures occur and by the end of his two-year journey, Ralph is a different person and anxious to return home, for “him seemed the world was worse than he had looked to find it.”

Forsooth, The Well at the World's End takes a bit of getting used to whereas it’s written in archaic prose:

What is amiss, fair damsel, that thou art in such a plight; and what may I for thine avail? Doth any pursue thee, that thou fleest thus?

But meseemeth to adapt, I wot not how, and thou mayst also if thou persevere thereat. I’m not too fond of this style, but it wasn’t long before I got into the rhythm of Morris’s prose and it didn’t hamper my speed or enjoyment. I did have to look up a few words, but Morris used these same unfamiliar words so many times that I was soon comfortable with them. He also had the strange habit of sometimes changing, inexplicably, from past to present tense in the narrative.

Ralph of Upmeads makes a great hero — he’s strong, handsome, brave, and good. His adventures are entertaining, and so are the places (there is some beautiful scenery) and people (the women, especially, were surprisingly strong characters) he meets on his quest. The Well at the World's End is not likely to completely satisfy if you’re in the mood for something deep, dark, complex, or sexy, but it’s a fun story and, since it was written by the first fantasy world builder, it’s an important piece of fantasy literature history. show less

This book truly does have everything you'd want from a medieval romance of this sort. The denoument was pretty long and hard to get into after the climax at the Well, but it got better as I went along, and I just reminded myself how Tolkien's LOTR finished in a similar way and no doubt owed such to the end of The Well.

Definitely think I'll try some other Morris.

William Morris's 3rd and final fantasy novel has been described as his masterpiece. Maybe so, although I prefer his 2nd effort in the genre, The Water Of The Wondrous Isles. (What was it with Morris and his penchant for W's in his titles? Preceding his 1st fantasy novel The Wood Beyond The World was a historical novel The House Of The Wulfings)
The longest fantasy novel until the publication of The Lord Of The Rings about 60 years later, Well is rich and expansive and further develops the imaginary world ideas begun in Wood and honed in Water.
As with the earlier books, Morris's style is deliberately archaic and modern readers may struggle.

This is volume one of a two volume edition by Ballantine Books. The tale is moderately long, but readable enough. Our hero goes forth in search of adventure and finding it, returns, a wiser man, to free his home from threats. And, of course, he finds true love. it seems a little flat to my jaded eyes.

It wasn't my cup of tea. I didn't care for the writing style and frankly, the story was like my mp3 player when the repeat button gets stuck.