RUSKIN AND VICTORIAN INTELLECTUAL LIFE
Manuscripts of John Ruskin (1819-1900) from the Ruskin Library, University of Lancaster

Part 1: Diaries, 1835-1888

Ruskin was the pre-eminent critic of the Victorian era. He helped to shape taste - influencing perceptions of art, architecture, literature, and the landscape.

He was also a powerful social and political commentator, encouraging communal responsibility, praising the dignity of labour, and arguing for women's education, and a better life for the working man. His views on environmental issues, the role of museums, and the preservation of heritage are attracting increasing interest.

His diaries have long been acknowledged as one of the most important sources for understanding his life, his thought and his influence. Hitherto, they have only been made available in a very poor and incomplete printed edition.

In co-operation with the Ruskin Foundation and the Ruskin Library at Lancaster University, we can now offer access to a complete facsimile of the diaries on microfilm.

There are 29 volumes of diaries in total covering the period 1835, 1840-41, 1844-52, 1854, 1856-78, 1880-85, 1888. These comprise over 4,000 pages ranging from tour abroad in 1835 at the age of sixteen, to his last tour abroad in 1888. As such, they provide insights into Ruskin as a precocious young man, challenging received ideas, and of Ruskin the great Victorian Sage, mentally troubled, and whose opinion is constantly being sought. In addition to his descriptions of the places he visits and the people he meets, there are also many sketches and embellishments in the text - whether these are sketches from nature or architectural details. There are excursions into aesthetic theory, church history, and loving descriptions of Venice.

The diaries show the full range of his enthusiasms. One moment he is describing mountain passes in Switzerland and concepts of the sublime, the next he is studying geology and rock formations. There is material on botany and myths, Scott and Turner, Egypt and Rome, and the later diaries include many reminiscences.

The letters to and from Joan Severn (1846-1924), his cousin, provide an excellent foil to the diaries. There are over 3,000 letters in total, mostly unpublished, and covering the period 1864-65, 1867-99. Starting as a correspondence between a teenager and an established icon of Victorian society, we witness the evolution of the relationship, with Joan Severn ending up as Ruskin's primary carer. These letters are perhaps the best source we have for the latter years of Ruskin's life.