John Ruskin, late work, 1870-1890

the long version

Morley's work - one of a small number of lengthy studies of the Guild - is an interesting, valuable, but somewhat uneven monograph. The volume is primarily focused on Ruskin's educational ideals, and does a very good job of analysing this aspect of the Guild of St. George, but in doing so, other aspects of the Guild's work are somewhat neglected. Morley adds knowledge of a number of hitherto obscure Companions of the Guild, and deals insightfully with the intersections of religion and education in Ruskin's work. In its original form, the volume is somewhat hindered by its raw reproduction from a typed PhD thesis, and some editions neglected to include footnotes. Despite its weaknesses, there is at the present time little else in the field, barring Margaret Spence's work in the 1950s, to compare with this, athough new studies will be available after 2012.