# News from Nowhere — Chapters explained

> Chapter companions for News from Nowhere by William Morris.

- [Discussion and Bed](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/news_from_nowhere_se/chapters/i-discussion-and-bed.md): The narrator attends a League meeting where a heated but good-tempered discussion about the future of a fully-developed new society takes place among six participants with divergent Anarchist views. After the meeting, he
- [II: A Morning Bath](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/news_from_nowhere_se/chapters/ii-a-morning-bath.md): The narrator awakens on a summer morning, disoriented to find the season changed from winter to early June. He goes for a swim in the Thames and is astonished by the transformation of the riverbanks: the industrial works
- [The Guest House and the Breakfast Therein](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/news_from_nowhere_se/chapters/iii-the-guest-house-and-the-breakfast-therein.md): The narrator lingers to admire the Guest House, built on the site of his old dwelling, and is struck by its beautiful architecture and frescoes. Inside, three young women greet him warmly and serve a simple but delicatel
- [IV: A Market by the Way](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/news_from_nowhere_se/chapters/iv-a-market-by-the-way.md): The narrator and Dick travel through Hammersmith, now transformed into a pastoral landscape with beautiful houses and gardens. They arrive at a splendid market square featuring a magnificent hall and an octagonal theatre
- [Children on the Road](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/news_from_nowhere_se/chapters/v-children-on-the-road.md): The Guest and Dick travel through Kensington, observing the transformed Houses of Parliament used as a market and manure store, and then enter Kensington Wood. They encounter many children living in tents and playing fre
- [VI: A Little Shopping](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/news_from_nowhere_se/chapters/vi-a-little-shopping.md): The Guest and Dick visit Piccadilly, now a market street with elegant arcades and guesthouses. The Guest, feeling out of place in his rough clothes, considers shopping for new attire but is dissuaded by Dick, who wants t
- [VII: Trafalgar Square](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/news_from_nowhere_se/chapters/vii-trafalgar-square.md): The narrator and Dick travel through a transformed London, passing gardens, orchards, and a banded-workshop. They encounter a road-mending gang working joyfully, and later arrive at Trafalgar Square, now an orchard. The 
- [An Old Friend](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/news_from_nowhere_se/chapters/viii-an-old-friend.md): The Guest and Dick continue their journey through London, passing Long Acre and other transformed streets, before arriving at the British Museum. They stop at the Museum Market, where Dick seems distracted, possibly hopi
- [IX: Concerning Love](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/news_from_nowhere_se/chapters/ix-concerning-love.md): The Guest and Dick visit Old Hammond, who discusses the nature of love and relationships in the new society, emphasizing sincerity, freedom from conventional rules, and the absence of legal or social coercion in matters 
- [X: Question and Answers](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/news_from_nowhere_se/chapters/x-question-and-answers.md): The Guest continues his conversation with Old Hammond, asking detailed questions about the transformation of the manufacturing districts, smaller towns, villages, and London. Hammond explains how the old industrial cente
- [XI: Concerning Government](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/news_from_nowhere_se/chapters/xi-concerning-government.md): The Guest and Old Hammond discuss the nature of government in the 19th century, concluding that it was essentially a system of law-courts and police designed to protect the rich from the poor, and that in the new society
- [XII: Concerning the Arrangement of Life](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/news_from_nowhere_se/chapters/xii-concerning-the-arrangement-of-life.md): The Guest and Old Hammond discuss the absence of civil and criminal law in the new society. Hammond explains that crime, especially violent crime, was rooted in private property, family tyranny, and the view of women as 
- [XIII: Concerning Politics](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/news_from_nowhere_se/chapters/xiii-concerning-politics.md): The Guest asks Old Hammond how society manages politics in the new world. Hammond replies with a smile that they are well off because they have no politics, and suggests the Guest should put that answer in a chapter by i
- [XIV: How Matters Are Managed](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/news_from_nowhere_se/chapters/xiv-how-matters-are-managed.md): The Guest and Old Hammond discuss how society manages collective decisions without formal government. Hammond explains that matters of common interest are settled by majority vote at local Motes, with extensive discussio
- [XV: On the Lack of Incentive to Labour in a Communist Society](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/news_from_nowhere_se/chapters/xv-on-the-lack-of-incentive-to-labour-in-a-communist-society.md): The narrator and Old Hammond discuss the nature of work in the new society. Hammond explains that all work is now pleasurable, done for the reward of life and creation, not for monetary gain. He contrasts this with the n
- [XVI: Dinner in the Hall of the Bloomsbury Market](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/news_from_nowhere_se/chapters/xvi-dinner-in-the-hall-of-the-bloomsbury-market.md): The Guest, along with Dick, Clara, and Old Hammond, enjoys a simple yet exquisite dinner in the grand hall of the Bloomsbury Market. The conversation turns to the subject of art and literature, with Clara questioning why
- [How the Change Came](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/news_from_nowhere_se/chapters/xvii-how-the-change-came.md): Old Hammond explains to the Guest the historical process leading to the great social transformation. He describes the failure of State Socialism, the growing organization of the working classes, the resistance of the cap
- [XVIII: The Beginning of the New Life](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/news_from_nowhere_se/chapters/xviii-the-beginning-of-the-new-life.md): The Guest continues his conversation with Old Hammond, who describes the aftermath of the civil war and the establishment of the new society. He explains how the destruction of wealth during the war was necessary for the
- [XIX: The Drive Back to Hammersmith](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/news_from_nowhere_se/chapters/xix-the-drive-back-to-hammersmith.md): The Guest, Dick, and Clara leave Old Hammond after a deep conversation. The Guest feels uneasy about returning to his own time, while Clara and Dick try to reassure him. They discuss the beauty of people's clothing and t
- [The Hammersmith Guesthouse Again](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/news_from_nowhere_se/chapters/xx-the-hammersmith-guesthouse-again.md): The narrator returns to Hammersmith with Dick and Clara, where they are warmly welcomed by Boffin, the weaver, Annie, and others. A festive evening ensues with fine wine, music, and storytelling under the moonlight. The 
- [XXI: Going Up the River](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/news_from_nowhere_se/chapters/xxi-going-up-the-river.md): The Guest wakes to a beautiful sunny morning and dresses in handsome blue clothes, feeling a boyish holiday excitement. He meets Annie and other girls sweeping the hall, then enjoys a dainty breakfast on the terrace with
- [XXII: Hampton Court and a Praiser of Past Times](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/news_from_nowhere_se/chapters/xxii-hampton-court-and-a-praiser-of-past-times.md): The narrator, Dick, and Clara journey up the Thames, stopping at Hampton Court for dinner and a stroll through its ancient rooms. They continue to Runnymede, where an old man invites them to his flower-filled cottage. Ov
- [XXIII: An Early Morning by the Runnymede](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/news_from_nowhere_se/chapters/xxiii-an-early-morning-by-the-runnymede.md): The narrator wakes early and explores the riverside and hayfield, observing the idyllic life of the new society. A debate with the old grumbler about the past versus present ensues, with Ellen passionately defending the 
- [XXIV: Up the Thames: The Second Day](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/news_from_nowhere_se/chapters/xxiv-up-the-thames-the-second-day.md): The narrator, Dick, and Clara continue their journey up the Thames. They stop at the house of Dick's friend Walter Allen, who reveals a tragic love triangle that ended in a violent death. The group then visits Bisham and
- [XXV: The Third Day on the Thames](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/news_from_nowhere_se/chapters/xxv-the-third-day-on-the-thames.md): The group continues their journey up the Thames, discussing the fate of the homicide from the previous night. Walter plans to find a lonely habitation for the man, while Clara offers a psychological perspective on his gr
- [XXVI: The Obstinate Refusers](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/news_from_nowhere_se/chapters/xxvi-the-obstinate-refusers.md): The narrator, Dick, Clara, and Walter encounter a group of builders and carvers who have chosen to continue their work on a stone house rather than join the haymaking festival. The carver Philippa, recovering from illnes
- [XXVII: The Upper Waters](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/news_from_nowhere_se/chapters/xxvii-the-upper-waters.md): The journey continues up the Thames, with discussions on the transition from machine-based labor to pleasurable handicraft after the Great Change. The party meets Ellen again, who joins them, and they pass through Oxford
- [XXVIII: The Little River](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/news_from_nowhere_se/chapters/xxviii-the-little-river.md): The group continues their journey up the upper Thames. Ellen and the Guest share a boat, and she reveals her impending move to Cumberland, expressing a bittersweet farewell to the river. The Guest confesses his past life
- [A Resting-Place on the Upper Thames](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/news_from_nowhere_se/chapters/xxix-a-resting-place-on-the-upper-thames.md): The narrator, Dick, Clara, and Ellen stop for a midday rest on a beautiful bank of the Upper Thames. They observe the landscape, which is treated as a garden for pleasure and livelihood, and discuss the ugliness of pre-E
- [The Journey's End](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/news_from_nowhere_se/chapters/xxx-the-journey-s-end.md): The narrator and Ellen continue their journey up the river, discussing the historical mismanagement of waterways under capitalism and contrasting it with the present harmonious and beautiful stewardship. They are greeted
- [XXXI: An Old House Amongst New Folk](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/news_from_nowhere_se/chapters/xxxi-an-old-house-amongst-new-folk.md): The Guest and Ellen visit an old house together, exploring its rooms and garden. Ellen expresses her deep love for the earth and the house, which she sees as a relic of the past now harmoniously integrated into the prese
- [The Feast's Beginning … The End](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/news_from_nowhere_se/chapters/xxxii-the-feast-s-beginning-the-end.md): Dick leads the Guest to a festive haymaking feast held in a small church, where they swim in the river and discuss the joy of living in harmony with the seasons. The Guest reflects on the contrast between this world's pa
- [Endnotes](https://www.betterreads.online/discover/news_from_nowhere_se/chapters/endnotes.md): The endnotes provide clarifications and annotations on terms and locations mentioned in the main text, such as the aesthetic use of 'elegant' and the beauty of mills along the Thames.

HTML index: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/news_from_nowhere_se/chapters