An important British critic , F. R. Leavis , said in The Great Tradition ( 1948 ) that Austen was one of the great writers of English fiction . Ian Watt agreed , and helped shape the arguments about the genre of the novel . These revisionist views , together with prominent British critic F. R. Leavis 's pronouncement in The Great Tradition ( 1948 ) that Austen was one of the great writers of English fiction , a view shared by Ian Watt , who helped shape the scholarly debate regarding the genre of the novel , did much to cement Austen 's reputation amongst academics .