The King of the Golden River Summary
The King of the Golden River is in many respects a conventional folktale. The two Black Brothers, Hans and Schwarz, who cruelly abuse their innocent, goodhearted younger brother, Gluck, recall the evil step-sisters in Cinderella. Ruskin himself refers to the story as "a fairly good imitation" of fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm and of the novels of Charles Dickens, the popular nineteenth-century novelist. In fact, Ruskin himself did not take The King of the Golden River very seriously. Later in his life, he wrote in his autobiography that, although the story has pleased children, he considered it of little note. Some scholars have agreed with him and judged the tale trite and conventional.
Others have sought traces of Ruskin's mental disorders in the characters and events of the story.
Nevertheless, despite Ruskin's own misgivings and those of some critics, many readers have felt otherwise. The King of...
(read more from the Short Guide)
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The The King of the Golden River Study Pack contains:
The King of the Golden River Short Guide
John Ruskin Biographies (5)
1,136 words, approx. 4 pages
The English critic and social theorist John Ruskin (1819-1900) more than any other man shaped the esthetic values and tastes of Victorian England. His writings combine enormous sensitivity and human c...
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During his prolific career John Ruskin wrote many more works for adults than those especially for young people. He is, however, well known in the field of children's literature because of his literary...
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John Ruskin attained his reputation as an art historian and architectural critic with the publication of three works: Modern Painters (1843-1860), The Seven Lamps of Architecture (1849), and The Stone...
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Biography EssayJohn Ruskin was the most influential art critic to write in England between the death of Sir Joshua Reynolds in 1792 and the publications of Clive Bell and others around 1914. It is not...
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John Ruskin
John Ruskin