William Morris’s "The Story of the Glittering Plain" is a seminal work of fantasy that was highly influential on the genre later developed by J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. The novel is a prose romance that follows the quest of Hallblithe, a young warrior of the House of the Raven. His betrothed, the Hostage, is kidnapped by sea-rovers, and Hallblithe sets sail in a small boat to find her. His journey leads him to the mysterious Isle of Ransom and eventually to the fabled Glittering Plain, a land also known as the Acre of the Undying. Here, it is said that the inhabitants never grow old or die, but at a terrible cost: they lose their memories and their capacity for strong emotion, becoming placid and forgetful of their past lives. Hallblithe’s quest becomes a dual struggle: to physically find his lost love and to spiritually resist the seductive but soul-destroying enchantment of the Glittering Plain. He must hold onto his memories, his love, and his identity in a land designed to erase them. William Morris writes in a deliberately archaic and lyrical style, evoking the feel of Old Norse sagas and medieval romances. The story is a profound exploration of themes central to Morris’s thought: the value of struggle, the importance of love and memory, and the idea that a meaningful life, even with its sorrows, is preferable to an eternity of empty peace.

Table of Contents:

• The Story of the Glittering Plain. Part 1

• The Story of the Glittering Plain. Part 2

• The Story of the Glittering Plain. Part 3