JOHN RUSKIN: AN ILLUSTRATED LIFE (SHIRE)

Ruskin’s study of art and architecture in Britain and Europe led him to a consideration of the conditions of the people who lived in the same world as his art. His interests broadened to embrace social and political economy, and his ideas have had a profound effect on life today. William Morris, Bernard Shaw and many other early socialists practised what Ruskin had preached. The effects of his teaching can be seen today in green belts, town planning, smokeless zones, the Rent Restrictions Act and the National Trust.