William Morris

While William Morris is usually remembered as one of the founders of the British Arts and Crafts movement (and, to a lesser extent, as one of the first Socialists in England), he also wrote some gorgeous re-tellings of Icelandic Sagas and several original prose works, many of which are available here.

Note: Morris’s wife was the fascinating Jane Burden, who was the model for Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s famous Proserpine painting and, possibly, the inspiration for Mrs. Higgins in George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion.

Note #2: Morris was the founder of the Kelmscott Press, which produced an edition of The Canterbury Tales in 1896 that some bibliophiles consider to be the most beautiful book ever printed. Judge for yourself here.


Aftertaste:
None.

Availability:
Depends on what you're looking for. There are Dover Thrift editions of some of Morris's artistic works, and some of his stories are available for free, as mentioned above. Sadly, the Chaucer fascimile is going to set you back some.

Other Recommendations:
The fairytales of George MacDonald

Website:
http://www.morrissociety.org/ -