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The Sundering Flood

First published: 1897
Pages: 242

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About this book

Morris finished this romance from his deathbed, dictating the last chapters, and it carries a tender, valedictory feeling. Osberne and Elfhild are children who grow into lovers while living on opposite banks of a river so wide and fierce that no one can cross it. They can see and speak to each other but never touch, and when war scatters Elfhild's people she disappears entirely. Armed with a sword given him by a strange guardian, Osberne leaves home, learns soldiering, and spends years fighting and wandering in the hope of finding her again. The uncrossable flood becomes a quiet image of everything that keeps people apart, and of the patience it takes to overcome it. Free to read here as a PDF and EPUB edition.

About the author

William Morris

William Morris (1834-1896) was an English poet, designer, and socialist whose wallpapers and textiles helped define the Arts and Crafts movement. Late in life he turned to prose romances set in imagined lands, and those books are now regarded as foundations of modern fantasy literature.