The Story of the Glittering Plain
or The Story of the Glittering Plain which has been also called the Land of Living Men or the Acre of the Undying
William Morris
1890/1891 (first published as a magazine serial)
4/5 stars
This is a fantasy taking place in a mythical medieval time about the knight Hallblithe, who goes in search of his kidnapped betrothed. Following her trail, he meets with pirate-warriors and eventually accompanies one of them to the Glittering Plain, a utopia of sorts where youth is regained for eternity. After a year of disheartening adventures, he escapes this land and continues his quest to be reunited with his love.
I wouldn't consider this an allegory, though it reminds me a great deal of both Spenser's Faerie Queene and George MacDonald's Phantastes. Through my own fault, no doubt, I failed to perceive the pro-socialist message that is reportedly part of this tale, and saw only a chivalrous tale in the reminiscent of both the King Arthur stories and Greek mythology.
Morris chose an archaic prose style, fitting for the subject and creating an unearthly effect. The characters were two-dimensional, but again, that was fitting for this type of story. Overall, I enjoyed it a good deal, especially his descriptions and storytelling and look forward to reading more of work in the future.
- read for both the Mount TBR challenge and the Key Word Reading Challenge (link to both) -
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