First published 150 years ago, John Ruskin’s only children’s story is still relevant today, with its message about life, greed and the environment. Readers of any age will respond to young Gluck’s adventures as he succeeds against the wiles of his two evil brothers Hans and Schwartz, and to the drama of mountains and weather, brought to life for the first time in colour in Quentin Blake’s witty and atmospheric illustrations.


John Ruskin was a 19th-century art critic, writer, painter and art collector, and a committed supporter of J.M.W. Turner and the Pre-Raphaelite group. Ruskin married Effie Gray, for whom he originally wrote The King of the Golden River.

Sir Quentin Blake is an internationally celebrated illustrator, known for his collaborations with authors such as Roald Dahl, Russell Hoban, John Yeoman, David Walliams and Joan Aiken. A winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal and the Hans Christian Andersen Award, he received a knighthood in 2013. He is the series consultant for The Illustrators and in 2019 published his illustrated edition of John Ruskin’s King of the Golden River.