The aptly named William Guest awakes one morning in London to find himself propelled into the future. Welcomed aboard a boat on the Thames, he takes a trip along the river for some fact-packed days and learns about a new society cured of most ills. Money and commerce have been destroyed.
Thinking on crime and punishment has evolved. The Houses of Parliament serve usefully as warehouses for dung. Work and art are cherished as one, and good folk toil only as they choose, free to inject creativity into menial tasks.
Walthamstow sage William Morris’s utopic novel was published in 1892 and peers into the 21st century. The polymath’s vision is less predictive than prescriptive. Kindness and freedom are key currencies for Morris, who was an artist, wallpaper designer and printer.
This facsimile of his Kelmscott Press edition presents his social critique in his own ornate typeface. Its detailed, well-crafted production evidences a dignity of labour relevant today.
