The Wood Beyond the World

This was one of the earliest books reprinted in the legendary Ballantine Adult Fantasy Series, and is still one of the finest fantasies ever written. It introduced an entire generation to the forgotten genius of William Morris, as well as establishing his importance in the field of fantasy as a genre ... although, as the genre has grown & become quite marketable, its quality has dropped far short of this glowing original. Fans of more recent fantasies, with their relentlessly detailed world-building & spectacular special effects-style action, may be bored by Morris & his deliberately languid, archaic diction. More's the pity, because they'll be missing something special. This luminous story, quite simple as far as actual plot goes, is more evocative chamber music than overblown orchestral bombast. Golden Walter, a young man betrayed by his wife, flees across the ocean, coming at last to an unknown land. He soon encounters the innocent Maid, a lovely innocent enslaved by the Mistress, a woman with mysterious powers, whose dwarfish servant has long tormented the Maid. Both love & terror follow in short order, all described in gorgeous language that transports the reader into a more mythic world. Love, both emotional & sexual, is a notable feature of Morris' fantasy novels, as is the presence of strong & independent women. He also brings a shrewd & subtle understanding of psychology & character to all these works. He definitely has an innate feel for the mythic, which makes his writing feel genuine, as if actually drawn from a mist-shrouded past. This quality gives his fantasies an extra dimension & depth that's sorely lacking in so many by-the-numbers fantasies churned out today. While there are several editions of this beautiful novel currently in print, I've chosen to review the Ballantine edition, both to call attention to the tranquil & mysterious cover art by Gervasio Gallardo & the appreciative forward by series editor Lin Carter. But whether you get this out-of-print edition, or a more current one, it's required reading for the fantasy fan of poetic, Romantic bent -- most highly recommended!

"The Wood Beyond the World" is many things but let me discuss what it is not. It is not a work of modern fantasy - that is, it does not have a high-paced plot full of swords and sorcery, peopled with rogues, wizards, goblins and elves. There is no attempt at the epic here. The story takes place with a limited cast of characters and only a modicum of natural magic. The lack of sword-play and the slow plot build-up may bore those accustomed to more "riveting" modern tales although patience is rewarded for the more persistent. The book is also, most definitely, not a fairy tale for children. The hero, Walter, leaves his first wife for unfaithfulness and fares forth on a sea voyage, during the course of which he stumbles onto the wood beyond the world. Here he encounters difficulties of a romantic nature when he falls in love with the maidservant of the Mistress of the Wood. How Walter and the maid escape the Mistress' wiles is subsequently described in fairly adult terms, the Mistress doing her best to seduce the innocent Walter. While C. S. Lewis may have received inspiration for the Narnia series from this book (the Mistress seems an archetype of the White Witch and has Walter slay a Lion at one point) Morris addresses themes of purity and temptation with considerably more directness. It is also not a typical Victorian novel, dealing with social mores, societal injustice or unrequited love. Rather it is an attempt to create a myth. Walter's entanglement with the Mistress of the wood and his eventual escape play out as a battle between seduction and guile on the one hand, and innocence and honesty on the other. The issue of trust and betrayal is of fundamental importance. "The Wood Beyond the World" is, however, a splendid little tale, told in a romantic style and written in a pseudo-archaic english (a little practice with a King James Bible might be in order if you are rusty). The plot is full of tension and the descriptions of the Wood, the characters and the rustic scenery are all exquisitely painted. Morris was a founding member of the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood and perhaps the best way to think of this story is as the literary equivalent of a Waterhouse painting - brooding, mysterious and enchanted.

The book you hold in your hands is the first great fantasy novel ever written: the first of them all; all the others. Dunsany, Eddison, Pratt, Tolkein, Peake, Howard, et al., are successors to this great original. By fantasy, I mean the tale of quest, adventure or war set in an invented age and worldscape of the author's own imagination. -Lin Carter (Introduction to The Wood Beyond the World) I like the definition of fantasy that Carter provides there and William Morris is certainly an early practitioner of the genre, but I think you've got to give pride of place to George MacDonald [see Orrin's review of The Princess and the Goblin (1872) (George MacDonald 1824-1902) (Grade: A)] At any rate, William Morris is one of the more interesting and influential characters of Victorian England. Repelled by the changes that the Industrial Revolution had brought to Britain, he yearned for more pastoral times. By profession a Medievalist, he translated Norse sagas and printed them in beautiful editions. An artist and founder of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, he designed many of the flowery tapestries and wallpapers that we associate with the Victorian drawing room. Politically he was a utopian Socialist. And, as Carter says, as a writer he helped to create the fantasy novel. In all of these pursuits he harkened back to an idealized past, no where more so than in his writing. The language, style and story of this novel lend it an aura of antiquity, as if it too was merely a translation of some medieval romance. The hero of the story, Golden Walter, flees his home upon realizing that his new bride hates him. Sailing forth on one of his merchant father's ships, his fate becomes intertwined with a mysterious trio: a splendid lady, her evil dwarf servant and a young maiden whom the lady has enslaved. Walter pursues the trio beyond the reaches of his own world to The Golden House, governed by the lady, known only as The Mistress. There he will battle the dwarf, free the maiden, with whom he has fallen in love, and together they will flee the Mistress. Though Morris may have intended to recall a lost past, he truly does create a unique world of his own. It is a world in which the reader can lose himself for hours and it makes for a wonderful and unusual reading experience. GRADE: B+

If only novels were made with such artistry and detail today. It is wonderful that Dover reproduced the text with the color and printing type-face that Morris' original book had. If you are familiar with fairy-tale romances, especially those of Celtic origin, the story won't surprise you. It has all the typical trappings: a maiden in danger, a handsome youth, and a great mysterious forest for them to be lost in. And all the expected events happen. But, what IS exciting about the book is the experience of reading something so beautifully presented and being able to allow yourself to savor the beautiful prose. There are parts of the book that sound like the lyrics of a minstrel's song. It was like taking a step back in time. All I needed was a glass of Absinthe and the experience would have been complete. Take time to enjoy this one.

William Morris is sometimes called the father of modern fantasy. Curious as to the validity of this statement, I searched and found The Wood Beyond the World in a low-cost anthology I had in my library. Much to my delight as I read the novel, I found that this fantasy of visions, quests and magic could have been plotted today. But the prose style itself is so beautiful, so archaic that I wonder if anyone living today could have given it the tone of Pre-Raphaelite Morris. It contributes greatly to the reader's immersion in Morris' created world. The basic story is one of a prince wanderer who leaves his father's kingdom, is besieged by visions of a mysterious young woman who is in terrible danger. The young woman turns out to be a real person shortly into the book. The core of the story becomes the wanderer's efforts to save her as they fall deeply in love.