William Morris

The Wood Beyond the World Illustrated by (Edward Burne-Jones) William Morris

The Wood Beyond the World 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. It was first published in hardcover by Morris's Kelmscott Press, in 1894. The book's importance in the history of fantasy literature was recognized by its republication by Ballantine Books as the third volume of the Ballantine Adult Fantasy series in July, 1969. The Ballantine edition includes an introduction by Lin Carter. The Wood Beyond the World is a fantasy novel by William Morris, mixing an imaginary world with elements of the supernatural. It tells the tale of Golden Walter, whose wife betrays him for another man. He leaves home on a trading voyage to avoid the necessity of a feud with her family but his efforts are fruitless, as word comes to him en route that his wife's clan has killed his father.