A Dream of John Ball
- First published
- 1888
- Reading level
- Plain English
- Price
- Free
About the book
"A Dream of John Ball; and, A King's Lesson" by William Morris is a novel published in 1888. It tells the story of a time-traveller who meets the medieval rebel priest John Ball during the Great Revolt of 1381. Through their encounter, Morris contrasts the ethics of medieval and modern worlds, exploring why Ball's dreams of an egalitarian society remain unfulfilled centuries later. Unlike other depictions of the era, Morris portrays the Middle Ages as a golden period of prosperity and happiness.
- Historical fiction
- Ball, John, -1381
- Tyler's Insurrection, 1381
- Matthias I, King of Hungary, 1443-1490
- Peasant uprisings
Updated September 2026. Public domain in the USA. Text and summary from Project Gutenberg eBook #357. A Dream of John Ball on Wikipedia.
More free books by William Morris
About William MorrisThe House of the Wolfings
The Well at the World's End
News from Nowhere
The Water of the Wondrous Isles
The Defence of Guenevere and Other Poems
The Earthly Paradise
The Story of Sigurd the Volsung
Hopes and Fears for Art
The Story of Sigurd the Volsung and the Fall of the Niblungs
Poems By The Way & Love Is Enough
Signs of Change
The Wood Beyond the World
