John Ruskin: The Early Years [Paperback]

Tim Hilton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2000

This is the authoritative biography of John Ruskin, the most influential nineteenth-century critic of art and society. It draws on the complete text of Ruskin's diaries and many thousands of unpublished letters and other documents to provide flesh insight into the background and content of Ruskin's numerous books.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

He was the most famous and influential art critic of his age, and not so incidentally a stern critic of 19th-century English society, but John Ruskin (1819-1900) was so deeply Victorian in thought and expression that he has been out of fashion virtually since his death. British art historian Tim Hilton introduces Ruskin to modern readers in a meticulously researched biography that elucidates his groundbreaking contributions to the study and appreciation of art without mincing words about his personal problems. The Early Years covers the writing of Modern Painters, whose first volume made the 24-year-old Ruskin's reputation as a champion of contemporary artists like J.M.W. Turner, and of The Stones of Venice, which spearheaded England's Gothic revival. Hilton also examines Ruskin's close relationship with his parents and disastrous six-year marriage to Effie Gray, who received an annulment in 1854 because her husband had refused to consummate their union. (Hilton later concludes that Ruskin was sexually attracted only to preadolescent girls.) Lengthy quotations from Ruskin's diaries and letters vividly convey his personality: passionate in intellectual and social matters, argumentative, often insensitive, and prone to crippling depression. Closing in 1859, a time of frustration and stagnation for Ruskin, Hilton looks forward to his subject's mellowing of character and deepening of convictions in the half-century to come. --Wendy Smith

Review

"The most readable and sympathetic [biography] that has yet appeared...This biography achieves perspective on its subject's character and achievement and on the well-known dramas of his domestic life." John Bayley, New York Review of Books "A stupendous biography." Fiona MacCarthy, The Times "The best life of the Victorian critic of art, architecture, and society we are likely to have for a long time." Washington Post Book World "Outstanding-beautifully written...loving but level-headed." John Gross, The Observer (Books of the Year) "A minor masterpiece of biographical writing." Roger Kimball, Architectural Record "Every serious scholar will have to acquire this volume, but even those who know practically nothing about Ruskin will find it enormously enjoyable." Quentin Bell, American Historical Review

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press (April 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300082657
• ISBN-13: 978-0300082654
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,257,160 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absorbing look into the life of a true genius, October 26, 2000

By 

Charles Kenney (Boston) - See all my reviews

This review is from: John Ruskin: The Early Years (Paperback)

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.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great if often dry rendition of Ruskin's life, January 4, 2002

By 

W Beaufort-Brantley (Oxfordshire, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: John Ruskin: The Early Years (Paperback)

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.