Praeterita: The Autobiography Of John Ruskin

"Written in the lucid intervals between the bouts of dementia that haunted his final years, Praeterita tells the story of John Ruskin's early life - the formation of his taste and intellect through education, travels in Europe, and encounters with great works of art and artists. In abandoning the traditional linear mode of autobiography, Ruskin opened up the form and was an important influence on Proust. He also provided a detailed portrait of pre-Victorian and Victorian England." "This edition of Praeterita is accompanied by Dilecta, Ruskin's own selection from letters, documents, and other writings, sent to him in response to Praeterita. Together these two works illuminate the life and mind of a towering intellect who left an extraordinary mark on the history of aesthetics and culture."--Jacket.