Sponsored by Columbia University Libraries & the William Morris Society in the United States

Free and open to the public

Jane Morris has traditionally been treated harshly by scholars writing on William Morris. When not the subject of outright attack, she has been dismissed as unintelligent, or unimportant. Frank Sharp will discuss his work with Jan Marsh on The Collected Letters of Jane Morris (Boydell Press, 2012) and how the wealth of new information provided by the letters reveals a politically engaged (though disenfranchised), culturally aware woman who was involved and assisted in most of William Morris's endeavors. Her ability to recreate herself given her childhood of dire poverty was accomplished through her own keen intelligence. Sharp will argue for a major reevaluation of Jane Morris in light of this new evidence.

For more information: Michael Ryan (mtr2109@columbia.edu) or Mark Samuels Lasner (marksl@udel.edu).