The first of William Morris's great fantastic romances is a translation of the old Norse saga, The House of the Wolfings. Of this tale, The Encyclodedia of Fantasy wrote: "The first step toward the characteristic large-scale fantasies which have had such influence on the genre . . . is The House of the Wolfings. Here the setting is quasi-historical: a European Saxon community is resisting the decadent advances of late Imperial Rome. The romantic-supernatural story contains a large admixture of verse." Indeed, Morris's chief ...
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The first of William Morris's great fantastic romances is a translation of the old Norse saga, The House of the Wolfings. Of this tale, The Encyclodedia of Fantasy wrote: "The first step toward the characteristic large-scale fantasies which have had such influence on the genre . . . is The House of the Wolfings. Here the setting is quasi-historical: a European Saxon community is resisting the decadent advances of late Imperial Rome. The romantic-supernatural story contains a large admixture of verse." Indeed, Morris's chief contribution to the book is his beautiful prose and poetry, for his version of the story is actually a collaboration with Norse scholar Eirikr Magnusson, who provided a literal translation of the original text, which Morris then reset as prose and poetry. Morris's version of The House of the Wolfings has influenced generations of writers, including J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and countless hundreds more.
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Add this copy of The House of the Wolfings to cart. $28.27, new condition, Sold by Ingram Customer Returns Center rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from NV, USA, published 2002 by Borgo Press.
Add this copy of The House of the Wolfings to cart. $49.13, new condition, Sold by Booksplease rated 3.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Southport, MERSEYSIDE, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2002 by Borgo Press.
Add this copy of The House of the Wolfings to cart. $62.60, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2002 by Borgo Press.
This is a fantastic tale set in what could have been early germanic life, during the roman invasion. I found the descriptions of day to day living to be beautiful and the battle scenes to be epic. There is, throughout the book, a great deal of poetry which I found long winded and dry; but this is because I have little appreciation or patience for romantic poetry.
I was drawn to this book, because it had been referenced as a book that influenced Tolkien. I did however not expect to find direct influences to C.S. Lewis. One character sketch that was strikingly similar to the greek in ?Till We Have Faces?; and there was also a name that found its way to be one of the races in ?Out of the Silent Planet?.
I would only recommend this book to someone interested in the influences of the aforementioned writers, or readers who have patience with romantic poetry.
