Sesame and Lilies

John Ruskin’s Sesame and Lilies (1865) consists of two lectures, Of Kings’ Treasuries and Of Queens’ Gardens, delivered in December 1864 at the town halls at Rusholme and Manchester. While these lectures emphasize the connections between nature, art and society, they are essentially concerned with education and ideal conduct. The first half of the original work, Of Kings’ Treasuries is a critique of Victorian manhood. The second half, Of Queens’ Gardens counsels women to be moral guides and urges parents to educate them as such.