1: Three Samples; 2: Aims, Methods, Metaphors; 3: Transcendent Matters...; 4:...and Ideologies; 5: A Conversation; 6: The Charm of Institutions; 7: The Middle Distance; 8: Description and Evaluation; 9: Distensions, Alternatives, Concentrations; 10: A Perennial Mode; Notes; Index

First published in 1973, On Realism is a comprehensive introduction to the complex problem of literary realism. Written from both a critical and philosophical perspective, the book brings together the concrete study of literary cases and the conceptual analysis of the terms used in describing them.