John Ruskin: The Early Years 1819-1859

By Tim Hilton

Book Overview

This authoritative biography of John Ruskin, the most influential nineteenth-century critic of art and society, is the fruit of almost twenty years of research and the first to return to the original sources. It draws on the complete text of Ruskin's diaries and many thousands of unpublished letters and other documents to provide fresh insight into the background and content of Ruskin's numerous books. In this fascinating book, Hilton shows how the youthful art critic became a significant didactic writer, developing a unique voice that was to shape his future as the most eloquent and radical of all the great Victorian writers.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0300032986
• ISBN13: 9780300032987
• Release Date: September 1985
• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.5" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Great if often dry rendition of Ruskin's life

An affectionately and well-written account of Ruskin's life (I'm referring here to parts 1 and 2 of this biography, taken as a whole). As another reviewer has pointed it, the book does move along nicely, leaving the reader feeling as though he has been given a solid picture of a period in Ruskin's life (the book is organized chronologically), though not that he has exhausted all possible accounts of it, accounts which could easily become boring to all but the most devoted of Ruskin's admirers. The only thing for which I would fault the book is its sometimes cumbersome, dry over-emphasis on facts -- lots of facts. We are too often told about where, what and when instead of why. Perhaps it was the author's intention to give an "objective" account of Ruskin's life, one in the shadow of which we'd paint our own picture of Ruskin the man. But that would seem to be contradicted by the obvious affection with which Hilton writes. Nevertheless, it was an informative read and the two volumes evidence Hilton's enormous work of scholarship. Ruskin was one of the most prolific writers we know of, but here Mr. Hilton shows that he familiarized himself thoroughly with Ruskin's works and letters. If for nothing else, we should be grateful for that. With a little humor and more analysis, this would be a near perfect biography. As it is, it's the most authoritative contemporary account of its subject and a fulfilling read.

Absorbing look into the life of a true genius

The first volume of Tim Hilton's biography, John Ruskin: The Early Years, is a fascinating look into the life and work of one of the truly great minds of the nineteenth century. Hilton treats Ruskin's eccentricities with a careful touch. The strangeness of the Ruskin life is there to see. yet the book is not overwhelmed by it. The star here is the Ruskin intellect and artistic sensibility. As a passing fan of Ruskin prior to reading this I felt hugely informed by this book. It is very nicely written and moves at a compelling pace.