My new novel, Light, Descending is here! It is a tale of art and obsession, the story of the brilliant yet tormented John Ruskin, one of the 19th century’s greatest and most influential personalities. Why is he worth reading about today? He championed the revered English painter Turner, protected and promoted the young Pre-Raphaelites, and condemned (and was sued by) the fiery Whistler. He wed a beautiful young Scottish woman and was unable to consummate their marriage. He fell in love with a ten year old girl. He fought to keep the greatest monuments of architecture from being pulled down in the name of progress, and fought harder for economic justice for the poor. He called himself both a Tory and a communist. He was passionate, mercurial, and stalked by mental illness. And his life and writings had a profound, and on-going impact on our world.
Light, Descending casts the great John Ruskin centre-stage with the most compelling personalities of the Victorian era – its celebrated and reviled artists, the prophet-philosopher Thomas Carlyle, the scientist Charles Darwin, even Queen Victoria herself. It includes a Book Group Discussion Guide to deepen your experience. I hope you will find it gripping and rewarding reading. It is novel I am proud of.
be whole and hearty, in Old English
Available now:
Amazon (Paperback and Kindle) CreateSpace (Paperback), Amazon UK (Paperback and Kindle), iBooks, Barnes&Noble, Kobo
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