Hortus Inclusus collects the affectionate letters John Ruskin wrote to Susan and Mary Beever, the sisters of the Thwaite at Coniston, near his Lake District home. Tender, playful, and full of observation of flowers, birds, and books, the letters reveal a gentler and more personal Ruskin than the public critic and reformer.
Less a treatise than an intimate record of friendship and of love for the natural world, the book offers a charming companion to his more formal writings. It is a quiet pleasure for admirers of the great Victorian. This free EPUB download is cleanly formatted for any e-reader.