'William Morris and the Uses of Violence, 1856-1890' offers a new and challenging reading of William Morris's work, focusing on his representations of violence and arguing that the idea of regenerative battle is central to his literary and political vision.

Acknowledgements; Introduction: Warriors Waiting for the Word; Chapter One: The Early Romances and the Transformative Touch of Violence; Chapter Two: Knightly Women and the Imagination of Battle in 'The Defence of Guenevere, and Other Poems '; Chapter Three: 'Sigurd the Volsung' and the Parameters of Manliness; Chapter Four: Crossing the River of Violence: The Germanic Antiwars and the Uncivilized Uses of Work and Play; Chapter Five: 'All for the Cause': Fellowship, Sacrifice and Fruitful War; Afterword: 'Hopeful Strife and Blameless Peace'; Notes; Bibliography; Index