Quite enlightening, but the style is both meandering (tangents on semi-related topics are omnipresent) and repetitive. Overall, provides a great overview how  succès de scandale (a phrase that is repeated at least 10 times, which is how I learned it) that ends up creating classics, deemphasizes the points of contention within the controversial texts in order to fit them into a pantheon of "universal themes". 
Also, the author speaks French and will make sure that no readers ever dare forget that.