Parables of the Cross

About this book

Isabella Lilias Trotter (1853-1928) was an artist and a missionary for over 38 years to the Muslims of Algeria. John Ruskin the famous art critic didnt believe that ladies could paint before he met Lilias he changed his mind after he met her and believed that if she would give her life to painting she could become the greatest painter of the nineteenth century. Ruskin believed that if she would devote herself to art "she would be the greatest living painter and do things that would be immortal. " - he was unhappy that she was spending so much time on the streets of London helping with the YWCA when he thought she ought to be painting. Lilias however decided to give up her career in art in order to serve God. She always remained a good friend of Ruskins though and they wrote many letters when she was in Algeria. She also wrote several books - beautifully illustrated by herself including: Parables of the Cross (1894) Parables of the Christ-Life (1899) and a book for Sufi Muslims The Way of the Sevenfold Secret.