William Morris ~12 hr read

Young Ralph of Upmeads sets out to seek his fortune and finds himself questing for the Well at the World's End, whose waters grant long life, strength, and a charmed destiny.

William Morris's 1896 novel is a monumental, foundational work of modern fantasy. Epic, lyrical, hugely influential. Read it for the great secondary-world quest-romance that directly inspired Tolkien and Lewis, a young hero's long journey through invented lands toward a legendary well, told in the beautiful archaic prose that founded the genre.

In its time

Published in 1896, during the 1890s, wells arrives.

Reading it

~12 hr read (a novel-length work, settle in).