John Ruskin's Correspondence with Joan Severn
Sense and Nonsense Letters

Edited by Rachel Dickinson

Cover of John Ruskin's Correspondence with Joan Severn

Legenda (General Series)

Legenda

23 December 2008  •  312pp

ISBN: 978-1-905981-90-8 (hardback)  •  RRP £80, $110, €95

ModernEnglishArtLetters

The great Library Edition of the Works of John Ruskin spans 39 volumes and, over the course of the century, further compilations of his private diaries and letters have appeared: but the most important epistolary relationship of his later years, shared with his Scottish cousin Joan (Agnew Ruskin) Severn, has until now been entirely unpublished. These letters - more than 3,000 of them - have been challenging for Ruskin scholars to draw upon, with their baby-talk, apparent nonsense and unelaborated personal references. Yet they contain important statements of Ruskin's opinions on travel, on fashion, on the ideal arts and crafts home, on effective education and other questions: and Ruskin often used his letters to Severn as a substitute for his personal diary. In this important new edition, Dickinson presents an edited, annotated selection of a correspondence which, until now, has been almost inaccessible to scholars of Ruskin and of the Victorian period.

Reviews:

  • ‘This book is one of the most significant contributions to Ruskin scholarship in recent years. It is essential reading for anyone who wishes not merely to understand the relationship between Ruskin and his cousin, but also to understand how in those later decades he used the correspondence to empower himself ‘in the public sphere by disempowering himself in the private’; it corrects many misunderstandings along the way. It is a brave, challenging, discomforting, heartbreaking book, full of insight.’ — Alan Davis, The Ruskin Review and Bulletin Autumn 2009
  • ‘Once in a while a book comes along that you hadn’t known that you needed, but once read you wonder why no one ever took the subject matter in hand before ~ and this book is one of those rare delights.’ — Friends of Ruskin's Brantwood Autumn 2009)
  • ‘These letters are heretofore unpublished. Ruskin scholars have found these challenging, with their baby-talk, apparent nonsense, and unelaborated personal references, yet they contain important expressions of Ruskin’s opinions on travel, fashion, the ideal arts and crafts home, effective education, and other questions, and Ruskin often used his letters to Severn as a substitute for his personal diary.’ — The Year's Work in English Studies 2011, 699)

Bibliography entry:

Dickinson, Rachel (ed.), John Ruskin's Correspondence with Joan Severn: Sense and Nonsense Letters (Cambridge: Legenda, 2008)

First footnote reference: 35 John Ruskin's Correspondence with Joan Severn: Sense and Nonsense Letters, ed. by Rachel Dickinson (Cambridge: Legenda, 2008), p. 21.

Subsequent footnote reference: 37 Dickinson, p. 47.

(To see how these citations were worked out, follow this link.)

Bibliography entry:

Dickinson, Rachel (ed.). 2008. John Ruskin's Correspondence with Joan Severn: Sense and Nonsense Letters (Cambridge: Legenda)

Example citation: ‘A quotation occurring on page 21 of this work’ (Dickinson 2008: 21).

Example footnote reference: 35 Dickinson 2008: 21.

(To see how these citations were worked out, follow this link.)

This Legenda title was first published by Modern Humanities Research Association and Maney Publishing but rights to it are now held by Modern Humanities Research Association and Routledge.

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Permanent link to this title:

www.mhra.org.uk/publications/John-Ruskins-Correspondence-with-Joan-Severn