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This ravishing book opens a window into the lives, designs, and passions of Mariano Fortuny and William Morris, two remarkable artists who themselves are passions of the writer A. S. Byatt. Born a generation apart in the mid-1800s, Fortuny and Morris were seeming opposites: Fortuny a Spanish aristocrat thrilled by the sun-baked cultures of Crete and Knossos; Morris a member of the British bourgeoisie, enthralled by Nordic myths. Through their revolutionary inventions and textiles, both men inspired a new variety of art that is as striking today as when it was first conceived. In this elegant meditation, Byatt traces their genius right to the source. Fortuny s Palazzo Pesaro Orfei in Venice is a warren of dark spaces imbued with the rich hues of Asia. In his attic workshop, Fortuny created intricate designs from glowing silks and velvets; in the palazzo he found happiness in a glittering cavern alongside the French model who became his wife and collaborator, including on the famous Delphos dress a flowing, pleated gown that evoked the era of classical Greece. Morris s Red House outside London, with its Gothic turrets and secret gardens, helped inspire his stunning floral and geometric patterns; it likewise represented a coming together of life and art. But it was a sweet simple old place called Kelmscott Manor in the countryside that he loved best even when it became the setting for his wife s love affair with the artist Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Generously illustrated with the artists beautiful designs pomegranates and acanthus, peacock and vine among other aspects of their worlds, this marvel-filled book brings the visions and ideas of Fortuny and Morris to vivid life."