Description
Book SynopsisIn the second half of the last century, the teaching of English literature was very much influenced and, in some places, entirely dominated by the ideas of F. R. Leavis. What was it like to be taught by this iconic figure? How and why did one become a Leavisite? In this unique book, part memoir, part study of Leavis, David Ellis takes himself as representative of that pool of lower middle class grammar school pupils from which Leavisites were largely recruited, and explores the beliefs of both the Leavises, their lasting impact on him and why ultimately they were doomed to failure. At the heart of this book are questions about what English should and can be that are by no means finally settled.
Trade ReviewA beautifully written, engaging and informative work ... It gives vivid and witty accounts of both F.R. and Q.D. Leavis’s fraught and often fractious relationships with colleagues and contemporaries, but the tone is never malicious or one-sided. Above all, it is a book about the role that literature might play in a life.
Laura MarcusI also enjoyed David Ellis's
Memoirs of a Leavisite (Liverpool University Press), an autobiography that, while providing first-hand evidence of Leavis's influence on university English departments the world over, distinguishes itself from many a work by Leavisite hands by its note of self-deprecation.
D. J. Taylor, Times Literary Supplement 'Books of the Year 2013' * Times Literary Supplement 'Books of the Year 2013' *
I loved two works of non-fiction that could have been written just for me - Alwyn W Turner's
A Classless Society and David Ellis's
Memoirs of a Leavisite.
Leo Robson, The New Statesman, 'Books of the Year 2013' * The New Statesman, 'Books of the Year 2013' *
A personal memoir cannot pretend to be an easy introduction to the study of literature; yet the modest frankness with which he shows his colours, with no attempt to disguise personal preferences and standards (rather too cheerful to be strictly “Leavisian”), makes this “confession” a richly rewarding joy to read.
Archive fur das Studium der neueren Sprachen und LiteraturenTable of Contents
- Preface
- 1. Holloway
- 2. First Impressions
- 3. Sanctimonious prick?
- 4. Close reading
- 5. Time out
- 6. QDL
- 7. Class
- 8. Politics
- 9. France
- 10. The Richmond lecture
- 11. Loose end
- 12. Research
- 13. Theory
- 14. Australia
- 15. Shakespeare, Stendhal and James Smith
- 16. Teaching in the UK
- 17. Lawrence
- 18. …and Eliot
- 19. Epilogue
- Acknowledgements
- Bibliography
- Index
