A tireless champion of her father William, and a gifted designer and craftswoman in her own right, Mary (May) Morris (1862–1938) had a unique insight into his extraordinary career and creativity. It was she who undertook the exacting task of editing the twenty-four volumes of her father's collected works (also reissued in the Cambridge Library Collection). In 1936, towards the end of her life, she published this supplementary two-volume work, which includes further writings and sympathetic commentary, revealing 'the development of a mind which was singularly of one piece, however many-sided'. Volume 1 addresses William Morris' artistic and literary achievements, containing introductory remarks and analysis, nearly fifty miscellaneous pieces on arts and crafts, and several unpublished poems, translations and letters. Volume 2 addresses Morris' political aims and ideals, opening with George Bernard Shaw's essay 'Morris as I Knew Him' and containing May's substantial assessment of her father's socialism.
Contents
Volume 1: Part I. The Art of William Morris: Introduction; 1. The spring-time of the firm; 2. Morris as a designer; 3. Morris and his circle; 4. Morris as an inspiration; 5. Arts and crafts; Papers chiefly on art and the crafts; Part II. William Morris as a Writer: Introduction; 1. Experiment; 2. Dramatic verse; 3. Narrative poetry; 4. Love Is Enough; 5. The influence of the north; 6. Later years; Juvenilia; Poems of the 'Earthly Paradise' period; From the Icelandic; Appendix. Volume 2: Morris as I knew him G. B. Shaw; Part I. Introductory: 1. The background: country life; 2. The background: the revolt against laissez-faire; Part II. Modern Socialism: 3. Hopes and fears; 4. The beginnings of modern socialism; 5. Early days as a socialist; 6. Morris as a lecturer; 7. The founding of the Socialist League; 8. New lectures; 9. Free speech in London; 10. The aftermath; Part III. Politics and Socialism: 11. Commonweal notes; 12. Socialism and anarchism; 13. Socialism comes into politics; Lectures, articles and letters by William Morris; Appendices; Index to the complete works.
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