Unto This Last & Other Writings

The most influential art theorist and critic of his age an outstanding man of letters a sensitive painter and draughtsman Ruskin's social criticism shocked and angered the establishment and many of his admirers.First and foremost an outcry against injustice and inhumanity Unto this Last is also a closely argued assault on the science of political economy which dominated the Victorian period. Ruskin was a profoundly conservative man who looked back to the Middle Ages as a Utopia yet his ideas had a considerable influence on the British socialist movement. And in making his powerful moral and aesthetic case against the dangers of unhindered industrialization he was strangely prophetic. This volume shows the astounding range and depth of Ruskin's work and in an illuminating introduction the editor reveals the consistency of Ruskin's philosophy and his adamant belief that questions of economics art and science could not be separated from questions of morality. In Ruskin's words 'There is no Wealth but Life.'. For more than seventy years Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1700 titles Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.