'To be taught to write or to speak - but what is the use of speaking, if you have nothing to say? To be taught to think - nay, what is the use of being able to think, if you have nothing to think of? But to be taught to see is to gain word and thought at once, and both true.' Ruskin was the most p[...]

First and foremost an outcry against injustice and inhumanity, "Unto this Last" is also a closely argued assault on the science of political economy, which dominated the Victorian period. Ruskin was a profoundly conservative man who looked back to the Middle Ages as a Utopia, yet his ideas had a con[...]

John Ruskin overturned Victorian society's ideas about art and architecture, arguing that ancient buildings must be conserved for their deep, mystical links with the past and that creative design is essential - not for financial gain, but to communicate eternal human truths. Throughout history, some[...]

Praeterita is the autobiography of John Ruskin (1819-1900), art critic and social commentator and one of the most influential figures of the nineteenth century. An elegy for lost places and people, Praeterita recounts Ruskin's childhood, and his travels across Europe with passion and intimacy.[...]

"For the lover of Venice...but above all for the lover of fine writing."J. G. Links. John Ruskin, Victorian England's greatest writer on art and literature, believed himself an adopted son of Venice, and his feelings for this city are exquisitely expressed in The Stones of Venice . This edition co[...]

A leading art patron, lecturer, and author of the Victorian era, John Ruskin was also one of the period's foremost art and social critics. This anthology features excerpts from some of his best-known books, including "Modern Painters" and "The Stones of Venice, " on the subjects he held most dear: n[...]