The Roots of the Mountains: Wherein Is Told Somewhat of the Lives of the Men of Burgdale, Their Friends, Their Neighbours, Their Foemen and Their Fellows in Arms

London: Reeves and Turner, 1890. Superior Edition. hardcover. Very Good+. 8 1/8" × 6 7/8" (20.6 × 17.5 cm) . First Thus. Printed by Chiswick Press: Charles Whittingham & Co. Small 4to. Bound in publisher's original hardcover Morris & Co. "Honeysuckle" printed floral chintz cloth-covered boards (designed by the author & produced by his firm), with gilt titles to spine. One of 250 copies. Printed on fine, hand-made, watermarked "J Whatman 1889" paper. Uncut, deckled edges. [i–iv], [1], 2–424 pp. Printed in Basle Roman type. "Morris bought 'the whole making' of the Whatman paper on which [this book] is printed, and used the balance for catalogues and prospectuses when he founded his own Kelmscott Press. This book so satisfied its author that he never reprinted the work at his Kelmscott Press. He declared it to be the best-looking book issued since the seventeenth century." [Colbeck II p.582]. Morris wrote to Georgie Burne-Jones on 16 November, 1889: "I am so pleased with my book—typography, binding, and I must say it, literary matter—that I am any day to be seen huggling it up, and am become a spectacle to Gods and men because of it." [LeMire p.134].The story is set in Burgdale, a small Germanic settlement in a valley at the foot of a mountain range, and the neighboring woodlands, pastures and dales. The area is inhabited by the interdependent Dalemen, who are weavers, smiths, and traders, the Woodlanders, who are hunters and carpenters, and the Shepherds. Their society is challenged by disruptions from the outside world in the form of the Sons of the Wolf, the descendants of the Wolfings from the previous novel, and the invading Dusky Men (the Huns). The Sons of the Wolf, driven from their original country by the Dusky Men, continue to resist the invaders as a frontier force guarding their new home. The somewhat troubled integration of the Sons of the Wolf into the society they are protecting is told in the story of five lovers representing both peoples, four of whom eventually marry.Morris projected a sequel to THE ROOTS OF THE MOUNTAINS to be called THE STORY OF DESIDERIUS, but he never completed it. [Graham Seaman, "William Morris: The Roots of the Mountains—Introduction," 16 April 2003.]Morris's proto-fantasy novels profoundly influenced later, fellow Oxford writers, C.S. Lewis (THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA) and J.R.R. Tolkien (THE HOBBIT and THE LORD OF THE RINGS), helping to pave the way for all modern epic/high fantasy authors. Half-inch tear to head at gutter, very shallow chip to the head. Gilt spine titling bright. Binding is sound, but there's a roughness to the two inner hinges caused, perhaps, by the nature of the cover material. Otherwise clean, square, and tight. Unopened. Condition overall: Very Good+.