John Ruskin and Victorian Architecture

Library Journal

From the publication of The Seven Lamps of Architecture (1849) until nearly the end of the 19th century, John Ruskin was influential in determining the course of Victorian architecture. This scholarly work examines the impact of ``Ruskinism'' on his contemporaries, and is especially attentive to the controversies that raged in the British journals and on the lecture circuits. Kristine O. Garrigan's Ruskin on Architecture (Univ. of Wisconsin Pr., 1973) and John Unrau's Looking at Architecture with Ruskin (Univ. of Toronto Pr., 1978) are excellent on the complexities of Ruskin's views, but this book is distinguished by its attention to the evolution of his thought throughout his career. Well written, documented, and illustrated, this work is highly recommended.Douglas G. Birdsall, North Dakota State Univ. Lib., Fargo