A Dream of John Ball (1886)

By William Morris

This early work by William Morris was originally published in 1886 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. William Morris was born in London, England in 1834. Arguably best known as a textile designer, he founded a design partnership which deeply influenced the decoration of churches and homes during the early 20th century. However, he is also considered an important Romantic writer and pioneer of the modern fantasy genre, being a direct influence on authors such as J. R. R. Tolkien. As well as fiction, Morris penned poetry and essays. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Goldberg Press
• Release date: Jul 7, 2014
• ISBN: 9781473395855

William Morris

William Morris has worked on international tax policy matters in the public and private sectors for over twenty years. He is also a member of the clergy team at St Martin-in-the-Fields, having been ordained a priest in the Church of England in 2010. He has degrees in history, law and theology, and is the author of 'Where is God at Work?'

Reviews for A Dream of John Ball (1886)

[the7ken7petersen · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The great thing about John Ball is, of course, that little is known of him: this means that Morris is at liberty to create a character and he makes full use of this fact. The story is of a dream meeting between the author and Ball. The rev. tells Morris about his struggle for the common man and our author reciprocates by telling him that the lot of the common man has not improved greatly by his day. This upsets Ball, but will not deflect him from going to what he now knows to be certain death for the cause. Ball is an almost Christ-like figure in his willingness to sacrifice himself for the greater good.For reasons best be-known, this book marries 'A Dream...' with 'A King's Lesson'; a seven page short story of a good King who understands the unfair nature of this world, but knows that even he is unable to rectify the situation. This story strikes me as a little too obvious in its moral but, the book, as a whole, has much to recommend it.