William Morris, the nineteenth century artist, sculptor, musician, master of all trades and jack of none, is at his brilliant best in this tale of shining waters and shrouded magic. His gentle and spirited heroine, Birdalone, steps forth into the world as freshly and gaily as when Morris first committed her to the written page. Her courage carries her into a remarkable series of all too human adventures despite the wonders and marvels that abound in her enchanted world. Morris uses the honest reality of human relationships and emotions to point up the magicks with which his rich imagination embroiders the story. Equally, the loves and angers, the longings and jealousies of his people are thrown into sharp relief by the somber threat of the Sending Boat in which Birdalone travels or the mad witchery of the Isle of Unsought Increase. Throughout he maintains that mark of the master storyteller-the need to keep turning the page to find out what is going to happen next.