W. G. CollingwoodBesprekingen

Sometimes one is forced to wonder how much talent we waste in our highly specialised society. Were John Ruskin to have been born today, he would be forced into choosing one area in which to display his abilities. We would have lost all but one of his economic politics, his artistic wisdom, his poetic ability, his geological acumen and his knowledge of weather systems (not forgetting his role in the beginning of respect for older buildings!).

This biography of Ruskin was written in 1893. This has certain advantages, e.g. the author had access to some of the people referred to in the work, but also some disadvantages: it has a somewhat pedestrian speed for the modern reader. It is well worth persevering, however, because one does get a view of the breadth of this man's knowledge. The best recommendation for any biography is that it sends the reader off in pursuit of the author's work: I shall soon be reading, "Unto This Last", Ruskin's last book and the one he considered to be the crowning glory of his work life - no pressure on this to be a great read then!!!

This is the story of a Viking boy who discovered Coniston Lake. It was one of my favourite books as a boy. It was a favourite book of the fathers and mothers of the Swallows and Amazons and now a favourite book of the Swallows and Amazons themselves.

(Arthur Ransome, 'Books about lakes and pirates'; reproduced in Christina Hardyment, Arthur Ransome & Captain Flint's trunk, p. 220).