Child Christopher and Goldilind the Fair
About this audiobook
Child Christopher and Goldilind the Fair is a sweeping fantasy of betrayal, exile, and redemption, following two displaced heirs whose parallel journeys gradually draw them toward love, loyalty, and restored hope. Christopher’s lost inheritance and Goldilind’s hardship unfold in tandem, giving the story both emotional momentum and deep romantic power.
This full cast audiobook keeps William Morris’s luminous atmosphere while lightly adapting the text for easy listening, so the richness of the original remains vivid without losing clarity. The result is a classic fantasy adventure with old-world charm, moral depth, and a strong narrative pull from first scene to last.
For listeners who enjoy medieval romance, lyrical storytelling, and fantasy with real emotional stakes, this is an ideal way to experience one of Morris’s finest works.
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About the author
Robert W. Smith is an author of books on Fiji, but a massive fan of William Morris's writings. Up to retirement, he worked in International Development as a finance and private sector expert. He has a master's degree from Oxford University.
William Morris (1834–1896) was a visionary Victorian poet, novelist, and designer who is widely celebrated as the grandfather of modern high fantasy literature.Before J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis created Middle-earth and Narnia, Morris pioneered the genre by inventing entirely fictional worlds rich with their own distinct cultures, landscapes, and mythologies. A central figure in the Pre-Raphaelite movement, he began his literary career writing celebrated medievalist poetry like The Defence of Guenevere and The Earthly Paradise, before translating epic Icelandic sagas.In his later years, Morris turned to prose, authoring foundational masterpieces including The Well at the World's End and The Roots of the Mountains (1889). His unique ability to blend ancient folklore, chivalric romance, and heroic adventure forever reshaped the landscape of speculative fiction.
In the final decade of his life, William Morris pioneered the modern epic fantasy genre through his "prose romances." Moving away from standard Victorian realism, he authored foundational masterpieces including The House of the Wolfings (1889), The Roots of the Mountains (1889), and The Well at the World's End (1896).Breaking entirely new literary ground, Morris became the first author to set his narratives in completely invented, secondary worlds rather than a magical version of Earth. His stories blend elements of medieval chivalric romance, heroic adventure, and deep Norse folklore. They typically follow courageous protagonists who leave rural, idyllic communities to cross vast, dangerous landscapes, unite clashing tribes, and battle supernatural or tyrannical forces.To give these original myths the weight of authentic antiquity, Morris deliberately wrote them in a dense, stylized, pseudo-medieval prose. Rich in themes of fellowship, structural freedom, and a profound reverence for the natural world, Morris's prose romances established the structural blueprint, world-building techniques, and heroic archetypes that directly inspired J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.
