Publisher's Synopsis
Among the contents of this book are F.R. Leavis's essay on "Hard Times", initially published to a chilly reception in "Scrutiny" in 1947 and subsequently in "The Great Tradition" (1950), together with contributions by F.R. and Q.D. Leavis on "Dombey and Son", "David Copperfield", "Bleak House", "Little Dorrit" and "Great Expectations". Its aim was to consider the development of Dickens's powers and his contribution to the art of the novel. Comparisons are drawn within Dickens's oeuvre and with writers as various as Smollett, Blake and Tolstoy, and Q.D. Leavis's concluding chapter explores the function of the illustrations to Dickens.
