Joan Abse (née Mercer; 11 September 1926 – 13 June 2005) was an English author and art historian.
[2] By age 17, she was a student at the London School of Economics (LSE), where she graduated in 1946 with a Bachelor of Science degree.
[3] She met her husband Dannie Abse while living in post-war London, and they married by 1951.
[5][6] Richard Ellmann, who reviewed Abse’s book for The New York Times, wrote, "What especially animates Joan Abse's book is her keen interest in Ruskin's effort to blend his artistic and social sympathies.
"[6] Joan Abse died in a car accident in Bridgend, south Wales, on 13 June 2005.