William Morris
Jack-of-all-trades William Morris lived a fascinating life: in between his time designing furniture and textiles, he penned a series of ethereal fantasy epics that would prove to be extremely influential. Though not exactly fantasy, this poetic account of ancient Germanic tribes' efforts to hold back the invading Roman hordes is steeped in the same sense of mythos as Morris' more fantastic tales.
Said to have been one of the source materials upon which J. R. R. Tolkien drew when creating his beloved Lord of the Rings series, The Roots of the Mountains is a classic fantasy that takes place on an epic scale. Two civilizations are drawn together by a pair of star-crossed lovers—and by the threat of an encroaching enemy that could destroy the world as they know it.
If you like your epic fantasy tales wrapped up in a dreamy layer of intricate, lyrical language, you'll love William Morris' engrossing novel The Hollow Land. Fans of Tolkien will relish the feeling of losing themselves in the pages of this richly imagined story.