Book In
Book In is a podcast in which brothers Rupert and Charlie Fordham discuss all things English Literature. From Chaucer to the present day, covering drama, novels and poetry, they cover all the classics and much more, from the UK, Ireland, the US, Europe and the rest of the world. Informative but lighthearted, Book In is suitable for all readers, and will be helpful for students doing GCSE, A-Level and university English degrees as well.
Both Rupert and Charlie have been keen readers all their lives and both studied English at university. For many years Charlie taught English at GCSE and A-level.
Book In
The Great Tradition - F. R. Leavis
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The Great Tradition - which are the greatest novels we have done in the podcast?
What are the greatest novels in the English language? On Book In, we’ve covered quite a few over the last few months, and now we take a step back, and try to assess their quality. The critic F R Leavis, who we have referenced frequently in the podcasts, had his views, trenchantly expressed in his famous work The Great Tradition. We look at his criteria and discuss whether or not they are relevant or useful today. And we come up with our own rankings and ratings for the major novels we have done. Is Heart of Darkness a better book than Jane Eyre? Is it possible to say? Does it matter? Join Rupert and Charlie to find out, and see if you agree.