It's an opinion piece by a novelist. Why are you so bothered by references to authors you're not familiar with? I just googled the ones I didn't know. And it's a bit patronising to presume that working class people don't read literature.
"The Guardian was founded as a socially-engaged newspaper for the working classes"
My point is that the pieces like this are inaccessible for the vast majority of people. Its meaning could easily be conveyed without so many obscure references. If this were in a literary magazine then fine, but this is the Guardian.
