First published in 1988

Leavis's examples and preoccupations still largely underlie the teaching of English literature in the universities and he remains the most substantial embodiment of the liberal humanist conception of criticism with its insistence on a canon of personal judgment within a literary tradition.

Hence while recent theorists have rejected his methods, he remains the most potent single influence on the practical teaching of literature.

This book locates Leavis within the critical tradition, suggests whence he derived his characteristic commitments and rhetoric, and assesses his limitations in relation to his continuing value.