Definitive, concise, and very interesting... From William Shakespeare to Winston Churchill, the Very Interesting People series provides authoritative bite-sized biographies of Britain's most fascinating historical figures - people whose influence and importance have stood the test of time. Each book in the series is based upon the biographical entry from the world-famous Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
Despite its short length, this brief biography provides a thorough overview of Ruskin's life and career, exploring every avenue from his childhood and family background through to his senility and death. The text is brisk and n0-nonsense, and what really impresses is the way Hewison ably explores Ruskin's psychology and internal passions to get a better idea of his mindset and influence.