Book Description

This volume re-evaluates the position of William Morris regarding contemporary perspectives on his artistic and political endeavours. Special emphasis is placed on the concepts and territories that lie in-between, both literally and metaphorically. This “in-between-ess” is the most remarkable quality of Morris, and secures him a unique position among his contemporaries, as well as inspiring new generations of scholars. Paradoxically, however, this aspect also contributes to a certain marginalization of Morris in studies devoted to “Eminent Victorians”. Instead of speaking of ruptures, gaps or lacunas, the point of view adopted here explores the undefined terrenes situated between art and politics, viewing them as vantage points and departure planes which cement Morris’s universe. At the same time, the book also argues that this universe has always existed in its specific shape and form, while the “poetic upholster”, as Morris was ironically labelled, only discovered and explored different points on the map of a space that could have no limits and boundaries. The book offers new insights and avenues to supplement existing scholarship on Morris, including spatiotemporal aspects of his work and the relationship between art and politics.