Showing results by author "E. M. Forster" in All Categories

E.M. Forster's Howards End is a vivid portrait of London's golden age, before World War I forever changed its values and culture. Forster brings the great city's upper classes to life, detailing their grandiose spending habits, popular fads, Monet and Debussy, the rise of feminism, and the beginnings of urbanization. More than a mere idealization of pre-war London, Howards End provides insightful commentary on the rapid societal changes that occurred at the onset of the 20th century. Masterfully blending the stories of three vastly different groups of people - the independently wealthy, educated Schlegels; the nouveau riche Wilcoxes; and the ambitious but struggling Leonard Bast - Forster weaves a wonderfully rich, unforgettably poignant novel.

The story of a young and affluent middle-class girl, Lucy Honeychurch is wooed by George Emerson and Cecil Vyse whilst vacationing in Italy. Though attracted to George, Lucy becomes engaged to Cecil despite twice turning down his proposals. On hearing of the news, George confesses his love, leaving Lucy torn between marrying the more socially acceptable Cecil, or George, the man she knows would bring her true happiness.

Howards End is a beautifully subtle tale of two very different families brought together by an unusual event. The Schlegels are intellectuals, devotees of art and literature. The Wilcoxes are practical and materialistic, leading lives of "telegrams and anger". When the elder Mrs. Wilcox dies and her family discovers she has left their country home - Howards End - to one of the Schlegel sisters, a crisis between the two families is precipitated that takes years to resolve.

In this original adaptation of E.M. Forster’s novel, an encounter in Florence and an offer to exchange rooms brings George Emerson to the attention of Lucy Honeychurch. Their flirtation is cut short by Lucy’s chaperone, but when they meet again back home in England, Lucy must negotiate the demands of her station with the desires of her heart.

Representing every phase of E. M. Forster's career as a writer, the fourteen stories in this book span six decades–from 1903-1957 or even later. Only two were published in his lifetime. Most of the remaining stories remained unpublished because of their overtly homosexual themes; instead they were shown to an appreciative circle of friends and fellow writers, including Christopher Isherwood, Siegfried Sassoon, Lytton Strachey and T. E. Lawrence.

A Passage to India hauntingly evokes India at the peak of the British colonial era, portraying the racial tension that underscores every aspect of daily life. In this setting, we meet Adela Quested and Mrs. Moor, British visitors to Chandrapore who, despite their strong ties to the colonial community there, are eager for a more "authentic" taste of India. But when their fates tangle with those of Cecil Fielding and his local friend, Dr. Aziz, at the nearby Marabar Caves, the community of Chandrapore is split wide open and everyone’s life—British and Indian alike—is forever altered.

The disregard of a dying woman's bequest, a girl's attempt to help an impoverished clerk, and the marriage of an idealist and a materialist - all these narratives intersect at an estate called Howards End. The fate of this country home symbolizes the future of England in an exploration of social, economic, and philosophical trends during the post-Victorian era.

First published in 1910, this classic tale of three very different and socially distant families, whose lives intertwine through chance encounter, still has the power to move and entertain us. The passionate and artistic Schlegels, with their idealism and compassion find themselves inextricably linked with the pragmatic and capable Wilcox family, through a series of events which change the course of their lives forever.

Howard's End is about three families in England at the beginning of the twentieth century. The three families represent different gradations of the Edwardian middle class: the Wilcoxes, who are rich capitalists with a fortune made in the Colonies; the half-German Schlegel siblings (Margaret, Tibby, and Helen), who represent the intellectual bourgeoisie and have a lot in common with the real-life Bloomsbury Group; and the Basts, a couple who are struggling members of the lower-middle class. The Schlegel sisters try to help the poor Basts and try to make the Wilcoxes less prejudiced.

A Room with a View is a 1908 novel by English writer E. M. Forster, about a young woman in the restrained culture of Edwardian-era England. Set in Italy and England, the story is both a romance and a humorous critique of English society at the beginning of the 20th century. Merchant Ivory produced an award-winning film adaptation in 1985.

The best literary analysis of novels ever written.

The Machine Stops is a short science fiction story. It describes a world in which almost all humans have lost the ability to live on the surface of the Earth. Each individual lives in isolation in a 'cell', with all bodily and spiritual needs met by the omnipotent, global Machine. Most humans welcome this development, as they are skeptical and fearful of first-hand experience. People forget that humans created the Machine, and treat it as a mystical entity whose needs supersede their own. Those who do not accept the deity of the Machine are viewed as 'unmechanical' and are threatened with "...

A Room with a View is a romance that makes use of the convention of the marriage plot, but it is also a comedy parodying British tourism in Italy. Forster had spent one year travelling in Italy between 1901 and 1902, and the people and situations he observed during his visit greatly influenced the novel. Lucy’s visit to Northern Italy references the 18th-century Grand Tour, the trip across southern Europe, which was seen as a necessary way for young gentlemen to complete their education. In Forster’s novel, Lucy and her cousin travel to Florence to see the ‘real Italy’ but stay in a ...

Aspects of the Novel is compiled from a series of lectures delivered in 1927 by E. M. Forster at Trinity College, Cambridge, in which he discussed the English language novel. By using examples from classic texts, he explores the seven universal aspects of the novel: story, characters, plot, fantasy, prophecy, pattern, and rhythm.

This collection of short stories from E. M. Forster contains six tales that were initially written between 1903 and 1912. Many of these stories, including the modern classic 'The Machine Stops' - which is set in a world where humanity lives underground and relies on a giant machine to provide its needs - deal with science fiction and supernatural themes.

A dystopian classic, The Eternal Moment is the titular title in Forster's classic collection of short stories, The Eternal Moment and Other Stories. It follows Ms Raby, Colonel Leyland, and Eustace on their journey through the Alps as spirits, animals, and sprites guide the reader on a journey through ideas of nature, freedom, and transformation.

The Machine Stops is a groundbreaking sci-fi short story by E. M. Forster. The story is set in a world where humanity lives underground and relies on a giant machine to provide its needs. The book is particularly notable for predicting new technologies such as instant messaging and the Internet.

Lucy has her rigid middle-class life mapped out for her, until she visits Florence with her uptight cousin Charlotte, and finds her neatly ordered existence thrown off balance. Her eyes are opened by the unconventional characters she meets at the Pension Bertolini: flamboyant romantic novelist Eleanor Lavish, the Cockney Signora, curious Mr Emerson and, most of all, his passionate son George. Lucy finds herself torn between the intensity of life in Italy and the repressed morals of Edwardian England, personified in her terminally dull fiancé Cecil Vyse.

When the young English widow Lilia Herriton takes off on the grand tour and along the way marries a penniless Italian, her in-laws are far from amused. That the marriage should fail and poor Lilia die tragically are only to be expected. But that Lilia should have had a baby - and that the baby should be raised as an Italian - are matters of grave concern to Philip Herriton, his dour sister Harriet, and their well-meaning friend Miss Abbott.

The Celestial Omnibus and Other Stories is a collection of short-stories which Forster wrote during the prewar years, most of which were symbolic fantasies or fables.