Add MS 45309

WILLIAM MORRIS LITERARY MANUSCRIPTS. Vol. XIII (ff. 108). Fair copies in the hand of an amanuensis of three of the earliest written tales (see May Morris's list of early tales, C.W., iii, p. xv). Contents:-

(1) 'The Palace East of the Sun and West of the Moon', a completed early version of 'The Land East of the Sun and West of the Moon' (C. W., v, pp. 24-120). This copy, which is in octosyllabics, is much shorter (about 1300 lines) than the final version and is not set in the framework of Gregory's dream. It is similar in outline but lacks the colourful detail and the mystery of the tale as printed. The clumsiness of the style dates it as one of Morris's first attempts at a long narrative in verse. The draft of this version, of which the opening lines are quoted in C. W., v, p. xxxiii, is not in this collection. ff. 3-49.

(2) 'The Story of Dorothea', included in the lists of projected tales (1868) quoted in C. W., iii, pp. xi-xii, but datable as much earlier on the analogy of its style with (1). The tale in this copy is complete, but has not yet been published. ff. 52-81.

(3) 'The Proud King' (C.W., iii, pp. 242-265). An early version of the tale of roughly the same length as the printed text, but differing considerably from it in detail and mood, being more prosaic and less mysterious. (For part of a draft very similar to this copy, see 45306, f. 2.) ff. 84-108.