This book is a rare thing: a beautifully illustrated volume that will delight those who appreciate the treasures of the natural world (as did John Ruskin), and also a treasure house of information on the life and associates of this Victorian polymath (born 1819, died 1900) whose scholarly teachings and writings powerfully influenced society. ‘The Mineral World of John Ruskin’ is Roy’s fourth book and undoubtedly the most challenging undertaking given the prodigious writings by Ruskin and the equally prodigious commentators of his life and activities. Those familiar with any of Roy’s previous books will know of his high standards in research, writing and design, and his extensive use of top-quality photographs – this volume contains more than 520.

As Roy remarks in his introductory chapter, John Ruskin’s ‘inclusive and wide-ranging views linked arts and politics, gothic arches and socialism and made connections between disparate disciplines that others failed to see… art and architecture, geology and mineralogy, poetry, prose, science, politics and economics’. Throughout his life, Ruskin travelled extensively in Britain and continental Europe and maintained a keen interest in geology and mineralogy. Thousands of mineral specimens passed through his hands, many of which now form the nucleus of world-class museum collections. Acquiring, studying and cataloguing minerals also provided solace for Ruskin who was beset with emotional stress and mental illness which at times curtailed his creativity.

In chapter 2 the reader is taken on an absorbing journey through John Ruskin’s life, from his birth in Bloomsbury, London, to his death as a recluse at his Brantwood home in the English Lake District. The subject of chapter 3 is Ruskin’s ‘insatiable desire’ to explore mountains – the Lake District and the Alps – and understand the geological processes that formed them. Chapter 4 contains extracts from letters that detail his exchanges with eminent mineralogists of his time, and his gifts of specimens to museums and individuals. Chapter 5 describes Ruskin’s acquisition of his beautifully located home overlooking Coniston Water, Brantwood, and the many visitors he entertained there. Included is an account of the disposal of Ruskin’s collections of books and minerals following his death, and the repatriation to Brantwood in 2019 of a substantial part of his collection.

With chapter 6, Roy’s book shifts focus: the reader is treated to pages of beautiful photographs of mineral specimens that had been acquired by Ruskin and are now held in the Natural History Museum, London. Roy provides a commentary on Ruskin’s influence on the arrangement of exhibits in the then newly constructed ‘British Museum’, including permission to organise an exhibit of silica minerals and produce a catalogue of the exhibit for sale in the museum. Chapter 7 is an intriguing diversion into the story of the 3 cm-diameter Colenso Diamond which Ruskin loaned to the Museum, and which was stolen from there in 1965 long after the expiry of Ruskin’s personal insurance policy for the crystal.

Chapter 8 ‘Ruskin the collector’ describes his cataloguing and curation, which was not his forte (he attributed little importance to recording locality information) and the breadth of his collection. He obtained specimens from many of the prominent mineral dealers of his time and his correspondence with these dealers and with his ‘vast network of colleagues’ is detailed in chapter 9. Chapter 10 describes the mineralogical museum established by Ruskin in Sheffield, now housed in the Millennium Galleries close to Sheffield railway station, under the auspices of The Guild of St George that Ruskin instigated to broadcast his ideas and philosophies. Twelve pages of photographs with informative captions illustrate highlights of this mineral collection. Similarly illustrated in chapter 11 are specimens in the Ruskin Museum in Coniston, established shortly after Ruskin’s death through the efforts of his secretary W. G. Collingwood. Chapter 12 describes ten other collections that Ruskin gifted to schools and colleges throughout Britain and Ireland as part of his lifelong ambition ‘of making mineralogy, no less than botany, a subject of elementary education, even in ordinary parish schools, and much more in our public ones’. Roy evidently put much effort into establishing the whereabouts of these collections, not least that given to Kirkcudbright Museum for which the catalogue exists, but the specimens have been widely dispersed.

Agates in all their beauty and diversity of forms greatly intrigued Ruskin and are the topic of an abundantly illustrated chapter 13. In chapter 14, Roy outlines Ruskin’s mineralogical and geological publications, showing published engravings alongside photographs of the corresponding specimens. In the following chapter, Roy explores Ruskin’s legacy in the domains of geology and mineralogy – in neither field did he make substantial advances in science, but he ‘left a considerable legacy of connecting people with the world of minerals and encouraging them to look more closely at the world around them’. Arguably his main legacy as regards mineralogy is the ‘plethora of wonderful specimens’ that Ruskin assembled and now held in national and regional collections as well as ‘escapee specimens’ in private hands. Roy finishes chapter 15 with a plea for help in locating ‘missing’ specimens known to have been taken to the USA in 1925 for sale by Ward’s Natural Science Establishment who purchased them from Sir Arthur Russell.

Chapter 16 ‘Where next?’ encourages readers to visit Brantwood, the Ruskin Museum in Coniston, and other museums and places associated with Mr Ruskin, and the book finishes with a personal epilogue by Roy on his 4-year quest to research ‘The Mineral World of John Ruskin’. Following this is a reference list, a three-page Ruskin chronology, a list of his mineralogical library holdings, and a thorough index.

To conclude this review, I cannot do better but to quote Howard Hull, the Director of The Brantwood Trust and author of the Forward to Roy’s book: ‘Beautifully and comprehensively illustrated, thoroughly researched, and copiously annotated, it [this book] is both a jolly good read and a work that scholars will go to for many years to come.’ Hear hear!