F.R. Leavis is a prominent literary critic who is known for his analysis of the "great tradition" in English literature. In The Great Tradition (1948), Leavis identifies what he sees as the central figures in the development of the English novel, focusing on Jane Austen, George Eliot, Henry James, and Joseph Conrad as exemplary novelists. This is the same group of writers mentioned in the statement provided in the question.
Walter Allen, The English Novel: While Allen discusses English novelists, the specific grouping of Austen, Eliot, James, and Conrad as the "great English novelists" does not feature in the opening of his work.
Terry Eagleton, The English Novel: Eagleton provides a Marxist and post-structuralist analysis of the English novel, but the specific lineup of authors in the question is not how he frames his discussion in his critical text.
Ian Watt, The Rise of the Novel: Watt’s book is focused on the emergence of the novel form in the 17th and 18th centuries, specifically the rise of realism in the works of authors like Defoe, Richardson, and Fielding. It doesn’t emphasize the same authors in the same way as Leavis does.
Thus, F.R. Leavis, The Great Tradition is the text that opens with the assertion about Austen, Eliot, James, and Conrad, making option 3 the correct answer.
Year-wise PYQs
