Preview of 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...