For those on the bottom rung of the socioeconomic ladder, London can be a grim place even today. It was seriously tough in the Victorian age. Exposing this hardship to the privileged literate class was one of Dickens’ motivations.

I’m not sure I fully grasp what point you’re trying to make. Morrison is not alone in being a phenomenal writer who many haven’t read - the points you make can be applied to many. Great writing is exactly that, great writing. But great writing and great writers can be very intimidating for some.

Shakespeare is potentially the greatest dramatist ever, yet plenty have never read his work. James Joyce’s Ulysses is one of the most important works in the English language but I just don’t think I will ever read it because, as I said, I find it intimidating.

Beloved is a personal favourite of mine, but while I love it, its narrative style is intimating to many. This doesn’t diminish Morrison’s greatest, however. Nor would I agree that she is “excluded” from general conversation on literature.