Customer Reviews

John Ruskin: The Later Years

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

To begin with the headlines: Ruskin was a racist, sexist, anti-democratic pedophile. Despite all of this (grounds for civil, if not criminal, liability today), Hilton has managed to craft a magnificent biography. He does not condemn these parts of Ruskin's character -- raising the question of whether it is place of biography to condemn -- he simply states the facts. Hilton certainly does, however, praise Ruskin where praise is due, perhaps posing this problem of biography in reverse. In this book, a fifteen year later sequel to "The Early Years," available here in paperback, but in hardbound only through the out-of-print service, Hilton accomplishes everything for which one could wish in a literary biography. Hilton makes you feel Ruskin's inspirations and how they colored, often drove, his numerous works. He ties Ruskin into his time and how he stood in relation to his contemporaries. I'm not sure that Ruskin was worth the dedication of so much of Mr. Hilton's life and labor. Surely that is for him to decide. Nevertheless, this is, and will remain, the definitive work on Ruskin.