SOURCE: "Edmond and Jules de Goncourt," in Master European Realists of the Nineteenth Century, Frederick Ungar Publishing Co., 1982, pp. 58-92.

In the following essay, Becker investigates the works of the Goncourt brothers, highlighting their innovations in the techniques of realism and overall importance to the Realist movement.

Of all the major realists of the nineteenth century the Goncourt brothers, Edmond and Jules, have had the least success in maintaining their renown as novelists. Today it is the Académie Goncourt and its annual prize that keep their name alive. Some twenty years ago there was a brief flurry over the publication of the integral text of their Journal, an event that had been delayed for forty years. But the excitement quickly subsided when it became apparent that nothing of importance had been suppressed in the incomplete edition, and this monument, interesting as it is, has not led to...