This work analyzes the various aspects of Q.D. Leavis" dealings with novelists such as Jane Austen, Dickens, the Bronte sisters, and George Eliot. It comments on plot, characterization, style, and the Zeitgeist. The final chapters examine the nature of her collaboration with her husband F.R. Leavis. The chapters dealing with Hans Christian Andersen, and folk and fairy tales cover hitherto unexplored ground.