The novel describes a dream and time travel encounter between the medieval and modern worlds, thus contrasting the ethics of medieval and contemporary culture. A time-traveller tells Ball of the decline of feudalism and the rise of the Industrial Revolution. A Dream of John Ball (1888) is a novel about the English peasants' revolt of 1381. It features the rebel priest John Ball, who appeared to be advocating a socialistic philosophy in advance of his time. John Ball is famed for his question When Adam delved and Eve span, who was then the gentleman?
