"English" literature

Looking forward to reading this book

"This analysis is often supported by a discussion of the worldviews, or ideologies, of the writers concerned, whether it is the conservative Jane Austen acting as a watchdog for the morality of the landed gentry at a time of social upheaval but in the process exposing their many moral failures, or the liberal intellectual George Eliot meticulously recording the stifling society of parochial England and ultimately finding it too claustrophobic and oppressive, a world to escape from in order to breathe freely.

Eagleton refreshingly demystifies the cult of the 'great writer'. A fine example of this is with the chapter on DH Lawrence, where he broaches the thorny subject of the relationship of politics to literature. It is, I think, a definitive summary, and one that explains how it is possible to reject a writer's reactionary views but at the same time appreciate what is best in their art. Lawrence, a misogynist and anti-Semite who flirted with fascist ideology, was a right wing radical who was nevertheless intensely critical of the establishment and existing society. He was also, at times, a fine writer who demonstrated a rare ability to represent, in an unsentimental way, life in the working class community of the Nottingham that he grew up in."

Cultural heritage