Modern Austen scholar William Galperin has noted that `` unlike some of Austen 's lay readers , who recognized her divergence ( difference ) from realistic practice as it had been prescribed and defined at the time , Walter Scott may well have been the first to install Austen as the realist par excellence '' . Modern Austen scholar William Galperin has noted that `` unlike some of Austen 's lay readers , who recognized her divergence from realistic practice as it had been prescribed and defined at the time , Walter Scott may well have been the first to install Austen as the realist par excellence '' .