Written in 1890, at the close of William Morris’s most intense period of political activism, News from Nowhere is a compelling articulation of his mature views on art, work, community, family, and the nature and structure of the ideal society. A utopian narrative of a future society, it is also an immensely entertaining novel. This Broadview edition includes a wide variety of contextualizing documents, including portions of Morris’s essays, lectures, and journalism; excerpts from precursor utopian texts; writings on Bloody Sunday, art, work, and revolution; and contemporary reviews. Comments “Stephen Arata, through his insightful introduction and his careful selection of documents, has created an invaluable edition of News from Nowhere, one of the seminal texts of the nineteenth century.” — Peter Stansky, Stanford University “This astute and long overdue reappraisal provides a lucid overview and a wealth of contextual information. An excellent resource.” — Shannon L. Rogers, Saint Joseph’s University, Editor, Newsletter of the William Morris Society in the United States “Stephen Arata provides an especially informative account of the social here and now out of which an imagined Nowhere emerged. The rich selection of accompanying texts from British and continental radicals is particularly valuable and full of surprises. This is a fine edition for a new century that invites us to read Morris’s utopia freshly while it provides ample material to help us do so.” — Elizabeth Helsinger, University of Chicago
