William Morris

Medieval churches, patterned fabrics and the pleasure of making useful things connect the many sides of William Morris's career in Elisabeth Luther Cary's biography. Cary follows his childhood reading and outdoor life into a wider account of poetry, design, public activity and printing. Her focus is the figure known through his work and public commitments. The book includes illustrations of wallpaper, textiles, furniture and pages associated with the Kelmscott Press, along with a bibliography.

The discussion of Morris's social ideas gives particular weight to his belief that art belongs within everyday labour. Cary examines his concern for working conditions, his impatience with commercial production and his wish for craftspeople to understand the whole object they make. She also questions his grasp of economic theory. Readers interested in the relationship between artistic practice and social reform will find a biography that brings the workshop, the printed page and the political platform into the same account.