The Earthly Paradise
- First published
- 1868
- Reading level
- Fairly demanding
- Price
- Free
About the book
"The Earthly Paradise: A Poem (Part II)" by William Morris is an epic poem published between 1868 and 1870. The work features a frame story about medieval Norse wanderers who, failing to find eternal life, settle among Greek colonists. Together they exchange tales—twelve from classical mythology and twelve from Norse and medieval legends—across monthly feasts following the seasons. This ambitious collection of retellings established Morris as a leading Victorian poet and later influenced Tolkien's use of frame narratives in his legendarium.
- Mythology, Classical
- Tales, Medieval
- Storytelling
Updated September 2026. Public domain in the USA. Text and summary from Project Gutenberg eBook #30332. The Earthly Paradise 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 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
A Selection from the Poems of William Morris
