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Edward Morgan Forster (1 January 1879 – 7 June 1970) was an English author, best known for his novels, particularly ''
A Room with a View
''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 a ...
'' (1908), ''
Howards End
''Howards End'' is a novel by E. M. Forster, first published in 1910, about social conventions, codes of conduct and relationships in turn-of-the-century England. ''Howards End'' is considered by many to be Forster's masterpiece. The book was ...
'' (1910), and ''
A Passage to India
''A Passage to India'' is a 1924 novel by English author E. M. Forster set against the backdrop of the British Raj and the Indian independence movement in the 1920s. It was selected as one of the 100 great works of 20th century English litera ...
'' (1924). He also wrote numerous short stories, essays, speeches and broadcasts, as well a limited number of biographies and some pageant plays. He also co-authored the opera ''
Billy Budd
''Billy Budd, Sailor (An Inside Narrative)'' is a novella by American writer Herman Melville, left unfinished at his death in 1891. Acclaimed by critics as a masterpiece when a hastily transcribed version was finally published in 1924, it quick ...
'' (1951). Today, he is considered one of the most successful of the
Edwardian era
The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...
English novelists.
Born into a comfortable
middle-class
The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Comm ...
family, Forster was an only child. His father died before he reached the age of two, and thereafter he was raised by his mother and a variety of other female relatives. After attending
Tonbridge School
(God Giveth the Increase)
, established =
, closed =
, type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding
, religion =
, president =
, head_label ...
he studied history and
classics
Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...
at
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the city ...
, where he met fellow future writers such as
Lytton Strachey
Giles Lytton Strachey (; 1 March 1880 – 21 January 1932) was an English writer and critic. A founding member of the Bloomsbury Group and author of ''Eminent Victorians'', he established a new form of biography in which psychological insight ...
and
Leonard Woolf
Leonard Sidney Woolf (; – ) was a British political theorist, author, publisher, and civil servant. He was married to author Virginia Woolf. As a member of the Labour Party and the Fabian Society, Woolf was an avid publisher of his own work ...
. He then travelled throughout Europe before publishing his first novel, ''
Where Angels Fear to Tread
''Where Angels Fear to Tread'' (1905) is a novel by E. M. Forster. The title comes from a line in Alexander Pope's ''An Essay on Criticism'': "For fools rush in where angels fear to tread".
The BBC adapted the novel for television in 1966 as ...
'' in 1905.
Many of his novels examine class difference and hypocrisy. He was nominated for the
Nobel Prize in Literature
)
, image = Nobel Prize.png
, caption =
, awarded_for = Outstanding contributions in literature
, presenter = Swedish Academy
, holder = Annie Ernaux (2022)
, location = Stockholm, Sweden
, year = 1901
, ...
in 20 separate years.
Life
Early years
![Tonbridge School 2008](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/Tonbridge_School_2008.jpg)
Forster, born at 6 Melcombe Place,
Dorset Square
Dorset Square is a garden square in Marylebone, London. All buildings fronting it are terraced houses and listed, in the mainstream (initial) category. It takes up the site of Lord's (MCC's) Old Cricket Ground, which lasted 23 years until the ...
, London NW1, which no longer stands, was the only child of the Anglo-Irish Alice Clara "Lily" (née Whichelo) and a Welsh architect, Edward Morgan Llewellyn Forster. He was registered as Henry Morgan Forster, but accidentally baptised Edward Morgan Forster. His father died of
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
on 30 October 1880 before Morgan's second birthday. In 1883, he and his mother moved to
Rooks Nest, near
Stevenage
Stevenage ( ) is a large town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, about north of London. Stevenage is east of junctions 7 and 8 of the A1(M), between Letchworth Garden City to the north and Welwyn Garden City to the south. In 1946, Stevena ...
,
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...
until 1893. This was to serve as a model for the house Howards End in his novel of that name. It is listed
Grade I
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
for historic interest and literary associations. Forster had fond memories of his childhood at Rooks Nest.
![Bs 03 rooks nest square](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/Bs_03_rooks_nest_square.jpg)
Among Forster's ancestors were members of the
Clapham Sect
The Clapham Sect, or Clapham Saints, were a group of social reformers associated with Clapham in the period from the 1780s to the 1840s. Despite the label "sect", most members remained in the established (and dominant) Church of England, which ...
, a social reform group in the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
. Forster inherited £8,000 () in
trust
Trust often refers to:
* Trust (social science), confidence in or dependence on a person or quality
It may also refer to:
Business and law
* Trust law, a body of law under which one person holds property for the benefit of another
* Trust (bus ...
from his paternal great-aunt
Marianne Thornton
Marianne Thornton (10 March 1797 – 5 November 1887) was an English human rights activist, who campaigned for the abolition of slavery.
Marianne Thornton was the eldest of nine children of the philanthropist, economist and abolitionist Henry Tho ...
(daughter of the abolitionist
Henry Thornton), who died on 5 November 1887. This was enough to live on and enabled him to become a writer. He attended as a day boy
Tonbridge School
(God Giveth the Increase)
, established =
, closed =
, type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding
, religion =
, president =
, head_label ...
in Kent, where the school theatre has been named in his honour, although he is known to have been unhappy there.
At
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the city ...
in 1897–1901, he became a member of a discussion society known as the
Apostles
An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...
(formally the Cambridge ''Conversazione'' Society). They met in secret to discuss their work on philosophical and moral questions. Many of its members went on to constitute what came to be known as the
Bloomsbury Group
The Bloomsbury Group—or Bloomsbury Set—was a group of associated English writers, intellectuals, philosophers and artists in the first half of the 20th century, including Virginia Woolf, John Maynard Keynes, E. M. Forster and Lytton Strac ...
, of which Forster was a member in the 1910s and 1920s. There is a famous recreation of Forster's Cambridge at the beginning of ''
The Longest Journey
''The Longest Journey'' ( nb, Den Lengste Reisen) is a magical realism, magical realist Adventure game, point-and-click adventure video game developed by Norway, Norwegian studio Funcom for Microsoft Windows and released in 1999.
The game was a ...
''. The Schlegel sisters of ''
Howards End
''Howards End'' is a novel by E. M. Forster, first published in 1910, about social conventions, codes of conduct and relationships in turn-of-the-century England. ''Howards End'' is considered by many to be Forster's masterpiece. The book was ...
'' are based to some degree on
Vanessa Vanessa may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Vanessa'' (Millais painting), an 1868 painting by Pre-Raphaelite artist John Everett Millais
* ''Vanessa'', a 1933 novel by Hugh Walpole
* ''Vanessa'', a 1952 instrumental song written by Bernie ...
and
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
Stephen. Forster graduated with a
BA with
second-class honours
The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variati ...
in both classics and history.
In 1904, Forster travelled in Greece and Italy out of interest in their classical heritage. He then sought a post in Germany, to learn the language, and spent several months in the summer of 1905 in Nassenheide,
Pomerania
Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...
, (now the Polish village of
Rzędziny
Rzędziny (formerly Nassenheide, Pomerania until 1945) is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Dobra, within Police County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-western Poland, close to the German border. It lies approximately nor ...
) as a tutor to the children of the writer
Elizabeth von Arnim
Elizabeth von Arnim (31 August 1866 – 9 February 1941), born Mary Annette Beauchamp, was an English novelist. Born in Australia, she married a German aristocrat, and her earliest works are set in Germany. Her first marriage made her Countess v ...
. He wrote a short memoir of this experience, which was one of the happiest times in his life.
In 1906 Forster fell in love with
Syed Ross Masood
Syed Sir Ross Masood bin Mahmood Khan (15 February 1889 – 30 July 1937), was the Vice-Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University starting in 1929.
Early life and career
Ross Masood was the son of Syed Mahmood. His grandfather was Sir Syed ...
, a 17-year-old Indian future Oxford student he tutored in Latin. Masood had a more romantic, poetic view of friendship, confusing Forster with avowals of love.
After leaving university, Forster travelled in Europe with his mother. They then moved to Weybridge, Surrey, where he wrote all six of his novels.
In 1914, he visited Egypt, Germany and India with the classicist
Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson
Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson (6 August 1862 – 3 August 1932), known as Goldie, was a British political scientist and philosopher. He lived most of his life at Cambridge, where he wrote a dissertation on Neoplatonism before becoming a fellow. H ...
, by which time he had written all but one of his novels. As a
conscientious objector
A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...
in the First World War, Forster served as a Chief Searcher (for missing servicemen) for the
British Red Cross
The British Red Cross Society is the United Kingdom body of the worldwide neutral and impartial humanitarian network the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with more ...
in
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...
, Egypt. Though conscious of his repressed desires, it was only then, while stationed in Egypt, that he "lost his R
espectability to a wounded soldier in 1917.
Forster spent a second spell in India in the early 1920s as private secretary to
Tukojirao III
Tukojirao III (1 January 1888 – 21 December 1937) was the ruling Maharaja of the Maratha princely state of Dewas from 1900 to 1937. He succeeded to the ''gadi'' of Dewas following the death of his uncle, Raja Krishnajirao II. His tutor and ...
,
Maharajah
Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king".
A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, an ...
of
Dewas
Dewas is a city in the Malwa region of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The municipality was formerly the seat of two 15-Gun Salute state princely states during the British Raj, Dewas Junior state and Dewas Senior state, ruled by the Pua ...
. ''
The Hill of Devi
''The Hill of Devi'' is an account by E. M. Forster of two visits to India in 1912–1913 and 1921, during which he worked as the private secretary to Tukojirao III, the Maharaja of the state of Dewas Senior. The book was first published in 1953 ...
'' is his non-fictional account of this period. After returning to London from India, he completed the last novel of his to be published in his lifetime, ''
A Passage to India
''A Passage to India'' is a 1924 novel by English author E. M. Forster set against the backdrop of the British Raj and the Indian independence movement in the 1920s. It was selected as one of the 100 great works of 20th century English litera ...
'' (1924), for which he won the
James Tait Black Memorial Prize
The James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are literary prizes awarded for literature written in the English language. They, along with the Hawthornden Prize, are Britain's oldest literary awards. Based at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, Unit ...
for fiction. He also edited the letters of
Eliza Fay
Eliza Fay (1755 or 1756 – 9 September 1816) was an English letter writer. She left graphic accounts of her travels and experiences in Europe and the Middle East.ODNB entryRetrieved 9 March 2011. Subscription required./ref>
Early life
Eliza was ...
(1756–1816) from India, in an edition first published in 1925. In 2012,
Tim Leggatt, who knew Forster for his last 15 years, wrote a memoir based on unpublished correspondence with him over those years.
Career
After ''A Passage to India''
Forster was awarded a
Benson Medal
The Benson Medal is a medal awarded by the Royal Society of Literature in the UK.["The Benson Medal"](_blank)
in 1937. In the 1930s and 1940s Forster became a notable broadcaster on
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering th ...
, and while
George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalitar ...
was the BBC India Section talks producer from 1941 to 1943, he commissioned from Forster a weekly book review.
Forster became publicly associated with the
British Humanist Association
Humanists UK, known from 1967 until May 2017 as the British Humanist Association (BHA), is a charitable organisation which promotes secular humanism and aims to represent "people who seek to live good lives without religious or superstitious b ...
. In addition to his broadcasting, he advocated individual liberty and penal reform and opposed censorship by writing articles, sitting on committees and signing letters.
Forster was open about his homosexuality to close friends, but not to the public. He never married, but had a number of male lovers during his adult life. He developed long-term relations with Bob Buckingham (1904–1975), a married policeman. Forster included Buckingham and his wife May in his circle, which included
J. R. Ackerley, a writer and literary editor of ''
The Listener,'' the psychologist
W. J. H. Sprott
Walter John Herbert Sprott (19 April 1897 – 2 September 1971), known to friends as ‘Sebastian’ Sprott, and also known as Jack Sprott, was a British psychologist and writer.
Life
Sprott was born 19 April 1897 at Sillwood Place, Crowborough ...
, and for a time, the composer
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...
. Other writers with whom he associated included
Christopher Isherwood
Christopher William Bradshaw Isherwood (26 August 1904 – 4 January 1986) was an Anglo-American novelist, playwright, screenwriter, autobiographer, and diarist. His best-known works include '' Goodbye to Berlin'' (1939), a semi-autobiographical ...
, the poet
Siegfried Sassoon
Siegfried Loraine Sassoon (8 September 1886 – 1 September 1967) was an English war poet, writer, and soldier. Decorated for bravery on the Western Front, he became one of the leading poets of the First World War. His poetry both describ ...
, and the
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
-based novelist
Forrest Reid
Forrest Reid (born 24 June 1875, Belfast, Ireland; d. 4 January 1947, Warrenpoint, County Down, Northern Ireland) was an Irish novelist, literary critic and translator. He was, along with Hugh Walpole and J. M. Barrie, a leading pre-war novelist ...
. He was a close friend of the socialist poet and philosopher
Edward Carpenter
Edward Carpenter (29 August 1844 – 28 June 1929) was an English utopian socialist, poet, philosopher, anthologist, an early activist for gay rightsWarren Allen Smith: ''Who's Who in Hell, A Handbook and International Directory for Human ...
. A visit to Carpenter and his younger lover
George Merrill in 1913 inspired Forster's novel ''
Maurice Maurice may refer to:
People
* Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr
* Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor
*Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and ...
'', which is partly based on them.
In 1960, Forster began a relationship with the Bulgarian émigré
Mattei Radev, a picture framer and art collector who moved in Bloomsbury group circles. He was Forster's junior by 46 years. They met at Long Crichel House, a Georgian rectory in
Long Crichel
Long Crichel () is a small village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Crichel, in east Dorset, England, situated on Cranborne Chase five miles northeast of Blandford Forum. In 2001 it had a population of 81. The civil parish was abolish ...
, Dorset, a country retreat shared by
Edward Sackville-West
Edward Charles Sackville-West, 5th Baron Sackville (13 November 1901 – 4 July 1965) was a British music critic, novelist and, in his last years, a member of the House of Lords. Musically gifted as a boy, he was attracted as a young man to a lit ...
and the gallery-owner and artist
Eardley Knollys
(Edward) Eardley Knollys (1902–1991) was a member of the Bloomsbury Group of artists - variously an art critic, art dealer and collector, active from the 1920s to 1950s. He only himself began to paint in 1949, and had his first solo exhibi ...
.
![Robert and May Buckingham House](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/Robert_and_May_Buckingham_House.jpg)
From 1925 until his mother's death at age 90 in March 1945, Forster lived with her at the house West Hackhurst in the village of
Abinger Hammer
Abinger Hammer is a village in the Vale of Holmesdale, located on the A25 in Surrey, England. The village is located within the Surrey Hills AONB, approximately midway between the market towns of Dorking and Guildford. The village is named af ...
,
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
, finally leaving in September 1946. His London base was 26
Brunswick Square
Brunswick Square is a public garden and ancillary streets along two of its sides in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden. It is overlooked by the School of Pharmacy and the Foundling Museum to the north; the Brunswick Centre to the w ...
from 1930 to 1939, after which he rented 9 Arlington Park Mansions in
Chiswick
Chiswick ( ) is a district of west London, England. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist William Hogarth; Chiswick House, a neo-Palladian villa regarded as one of the finest in England; and Full ...
until at least 1961.
After a fall in April 1961, he spent his final years in Cambridge at King's College.
Forster was elected an honorary
fellow
A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context.
In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements.
Within the context of higher education ...
of King's College in January 1946,
[ and lived for the most part in the college, doing relatively little. In April 1947 he arrived in America for a three-month nationwide tour of public readings and sightseeing, returning to the East Coast in June.][Wendy Moffat, ''E. M. Forster: A New Life'', London: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2010.] He declined a knighthood
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...
in 1949 and was made a Companion of Honour in 1953.[ At age 82, he wrote his last short story, ''Little Imber'', a science fiction tale. According to his friend ]Richard Marquand
Richard Alfred Marquand (22 September 1937 – 4 September 1987) was a British film and television director active in both US and UK film productions, best known for directing 1983's ''Return of the Jedi''. He also directed the critically accla ...
, Forster was critical of American foreign policy in his latter years, which was one reason he refused offers to adapt his novels for the screen, as Forster felt such productions would involve American financing.
At 85 he went on a pilgrimage to the Wiltshire countryside that had inspired his favourite novel ''The Longest Journey'', escorted by William Golding
Sir William Gerald Golding (19 September 1911 – 19 June 1993) was a British novelist, playwright, and poet. Best known for his debut novel ''Lord of the Flies'' (1954), he published another twelve volumes of fiction in his lifetime. In 1980 ...
. In 1961 he was one of the first five authors named as a Companion of Literature
The title ''‘Companion of Literature’'' is the highest award bestowed by the Royal Society of Literature. The title was inaugurated in 1961, and is held by up to twelve living writers at any one time.
Recipients
Those who have been awarded t ...
by the Royal Society of Literature
The Royal Society of Literature (RSL) is a learned society founded in 1820, by George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV, to "reward literary merit and excite literary talent". A charity that represents the voice of literature in the UK, th ...
. In 1969 he was made a member of the Order of Merit
The Order of Merit (french: link=no, Ordre du Mérite) is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by K ...
. Forster died of a stroke on 7 June 1970 at the age of 91, at the Buckinghams' home in Coventry
Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...
, Warwickshire
Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...
.[ His ashes, mingled with those of Buckingham, were later scattered in the rose garden of Coventry's crematorium, near Warwick University.
]
Work
Novels
Forster had five novels published in his lifetime. Although ''Maurice Maurice may refer to:
People
* Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr
* Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor
*Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and ...
'' was published shortly after his death, it had been written nearly sixty years earlier. He never finished a seventh novel, ''Arctic Summer
The midnight sun is a natural phenomenon that occurs in the summer months in places north of the Arctic Circle or south of the Antarctic Circle, when the Sun remains visible at the local midnight. When the midnight sun is seen in the Arctic, t ...
''.
His first novel, ''Where Angels Fear to Tread
''Where Angels Fear to Tread'' (1905) is a novel by E. M. Forster. The title comes from a line in Alexander Pope's ''An Essay on Criticism'': "For fools rush in where angels fear to tread".
The BBC adapted the novel for television in 1966 as ...
'' (1905), tells of Lilia, a young English widow who falls in love with an Italian, and of the efforts of her bourgeois
The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...
relatives to get her back from Monteriano (based on San Gimignano
San Gimignano () is a small walled medieval hill town in the province of Siena, Tuscany, north-central Italy. Known as the Town of Fine Towers, San Gimignano is famous for its medieval architecture, unique in the preservation of about a dozen of ...
). Philip Herriton's mission to retrieve her from Italy has features in common with that of Lambert Strether in Henry James
Henry James ( – ) was an American-British author. He is regarded as a key transitional figure between literary realism and literary modernism, and is considered by many to be among the greatest novelists in the English language. He was the ...
's ''The Ambassadors
''The Ambassadors'' is a 1903 novel by Henry James, originally published as a serial in the ''North American Review'' (NAR). The novel is a dark comedy which follows the trip of protagonist Lewis Lambert Strether to Europe to bring the son o ...
.'' Forster discussed that work ironically and somewhat disapprovingly in his book ''Aspects of the Novel'' (1927). The novel was adapted as a 1991 film
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
directed by Charles Sturridge
Charles B. G. Sturridge (born 24 June 1951) is an English director and screenwriter. He is the recipient of a BAFTA Children's Award and four BAFTA TV Awards. He has also been nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards.
Early life and educatio ...
.
Next, Forster published ''The Longest Journey
''The Longest Journey'' ( nb, Den Lengste Reisen) is a magical realism, magical realist Adventure game, point-and-click adventure video game developed by Norway, Norwegian studio Funcom for Microsoft Windows and released in 1999.
The game was a ...
'' (1907), an inverted ''Bildungsroman
In literary criticism, a ''Bildungsroman'' (, plural ''Bildungsromane'', ) is a literary genre that focuses on the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist from childhood to adulthood ( coming of age), in which character change is impo ...
'' following the lame Rickie Elliott from Cambridge to a career as a struggling writer and then a post as a schoolmaster, married to an unappealing Agnes Pembroke. In a series of scenes on the Wiltshire hills, which introduce Rickie's wild half-brother Stephen Wonham, Forster attempts a kind of sublime related to those of Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry of William Word ...
and D. H. Lawrence
David Herbert Lawrence (11 September 1885 – 2 March 1930) was an English writer, novelist, poet and essayist. His works reflect on modernity, industrialization, sexuality, emotional health, vitality, spontaneity and instinct. His best-k ...
.
Forster's third novel, ''A Room with a View
''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 a ...
'' (1908), is his lightest and most optimistic. It was started in 1901, before any of his others, initially under the title ''Lucy''. It explores young Lucy Honeychurch's trip to Italy with a cousin, and the choice she must make between the free-thinking George Emerson and the repressed aesthete Cecil Vyse. George's father Mr Emerson quotes thinkers who influenced Forster, including Samuel Butler. It was adapted as a film of the same name in 1985 by the Merchant Ivory
A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as industry ...
team, starring Helena Bonham Carter
Helena Bonham Carter (born 26 May 1966) is an English actress. Known for her roles in blockbusters and independent films, particularly period dramas, she has received various awards and nominations, including a British Academy Film Award a ...
and Daniel Day-Lewis
Sir Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis (born 29 April 1957) is an English retired actor. Often described as one of the preeminent actors of his generation, he received numerous accolades throughout his career which spanned over four decades, incl ...
, and as a televised adaptation of the same name in 2007 by Andrew Davies.
''Where Angels Fear to Tread'' and ''A Room with a View'' can be seen as Forster's Italian novels. Both include references to the famous Baedeker
Verlag Karl Baedeker, founded by Karl Baedeker on July 1, 1827, is a German publisher and pioneer in the business of worldwide travel guides. The guides, often referred to simply as " Baedekers" (a term sometimes used to refer to similar works fro ...
guidebooks and concern narrow-minded middle-class English tourists abroad. The books share themes with his short stories collected in ''The Celestial Omnibus
''The Celestial Omnibus and Other Stories'' is the title of a collection of short stories by English writer E. M. Forster
Edward Morgan Forster (1 January 1879 – 7 June 1970) was an English author, best known for his novels, particularly ...
'' and ''The Eternal Moment
''The Eternal Moment and Other Stories'' is the title of a collection of short stories by E. M. Forster, first published in 1928 by Sidgwick & Jackson. It contains stories written between about 1903 and 1914. Together with the stories contained ...
''.
''Howards End
''Howards End'' is a novel by E. M. Forster, first published in 1910, about social conventions, codes of conduct and relationships in turn-of-the-century England. ''Howards End'' is considered by many to be Forster's masterpiece. The book was ...
'' (1910) is an ambitious "condition-of-England" novel about various groups among the Edwardian
The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...
middle classes, represented by the Schlegels (bohemian intellectuals), the Wilcoxes (thoughtless plutocrats) and the Basts (struggling lower-middle-class aspirants). ''Howards End'' was adapted as a film
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
in 1992 by the Merchant-Ivory team, starring Vanessa Redgrave, Emma Thompson, Anthony Hopkins, and Helena Bonham-Carter. Emma Thompson won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance as Margaret Schlegel. It was also adapted as a miniseries
A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...
in 2017. An opera libretto ''Howards End, America'' was created in 2016 by Claudia Stevens
Claudia Stevens (born 1949) is an American musician, performance artist and librettist. Initially a pianist specializing in contemporary music, she is recognized for creating and performing widely an array of interdisciplinary solo performance work ...
.
Forster's greatest success, ''A Passage to India
''A Passage to India'' is a 1924 novel by English author E. M. Forster set against the backdrop of the British Raj and the Indian independence movement in the 1920s. It was selected as one of the 100 great works of 20th century English litera ...
'' (1924), takes as its subject the relations between East and West, seen through the lens of India in the later days of the British Raj
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...
. Forster connects personal relations with the politics of colonialism through the story of the Englishwoman Adela Quested, the Indian Dr. Aziz, and the question of what did or did not happen between them in the Marabar Caves
The Marabar Caves are fictional caves which appear in E. M. Forster's 1924 novel ''A Passage to India'' and the film of the same name. The caves are based on the real life Barabar Caves, especially the Lomas Rishi Cave, located in the Jehanabad ...
. Forster makes special mention of the author Ahmed Ali and his ''Twilight in Delhi
''Twilight in Delhi'' is Ahmed Ali's first novel, originally published in English by the Hogarth Press in Britain in 1940. The novel addresses India's changing social, political, and cultural climate following colonialism.
Plot summary
T ...
'' in a preface to its Everyman's Library Edition. ''A Passage to India
''A Passage to India'' is a 1924 novel by English author E. M. Forster set against the backdrop of the British Raj and the Indian independence movement in the 1920s. It was selected as one of the 100 great works of 20th century English litera ...
'' was adapted as a play
Play most commonly refers to:
* Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment
* Play (theatre), a work of drama
Play may refer also to:
Computers and technology
* Google Play, a digital content service
* Play Framework, a Java framework
* Pla ...
in 1960, directed by Frank Hauser, and as a film
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
in 1984, directed by David Lean
Sir David Lean (25 March 190816 April 1991) was an English film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Widely considered one of the most important figures in British cinema, Lean directed the large-scale epics ''The Bridge on the River ...
.
''Maurice Maurice may refer to:
People
* Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr
* Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor
*Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and ...
'' (1971), published posthumously, is a homosexual love story that also returns to matters familiar from Forster's first three novels, such as the suburbs of London in the English home counties
The home counties are the counties of England that surround London. The counties are not precisely defined but Buckinghamshire and Surrey are usually included in definitions and Berkshire, Essex, Hertfordshire and Kent are also often inc ...
, the experience of attending Cambridge, and the wild landscape of Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
. The novel was controversial, given that Forster's homosexuality had not been known or widely acknowledged. Today's critics continue to argue over the extent to which Forster's sexuality and personal activities influenced his writing. ''Maurice'' was adapted as a film in 1987 by the Merchant Ivory
A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as industry ...
team.
Early in his career, Forster attempted a historical novel about the Byzantine scholar Gemistus Pletho
Georgios Gemistos Plethon ( el, Γεώργιος Γεμιστός Πλήθων; la, Georgius Gemistus Pletho /1360 – 1452/1454), commonly known as Gemistos Plethon, was a Greek scholar and one of the most renowned philosophers of the late Byza ...
and the Italian condottiero
''Condottieri'' (; singular ''condottiero'' or ''condottiere'') were Italian captains in command of mercenary companies during the Middle Ages and of multinational armies during the early modern period. They notably served popes and other Europe ...
Sigismondo de Malatesta, but was dissatisfied with the result and never published it, though he kept the manuscript and later showed it to Naomi Mitchison
Naomi Mary Margaret Mitchison, Baroness Mitchison (; 1 November 1897 – 11 January 1999) was a Scottish novelist and poet. Often called a doyenne of Scottish literature, she wrote over 90 books of historical and science fiction, travel writin ...
.
Critical reception
Forster's first novel, ''Where Angels Fear to Tread
''Where Angels Fear to Tread'' (1905) is a novel by E. M. Forster. The title comes from a line in Alexander Pope's ''An Essay on Criticism'': "For fools rush in where angels fear to tread".
The BBC adapted the novel for television in 1966 as ...
'', was described by reviewers as "astonishing" and "brilliantly original". ''The Manchester Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' (forerunner of ''The Guardian'') noted "a persistent vein of cynicism which is apt to repel," though "the cynicism is not deep-seated." The novel is labelled "a sordid comedy culminating, unexpectedly and with a real dramatic force, in a grotesque tragedy." Lionel Trilling
Lionel Mordecai Trilling (July 4, 1905 – November 5, 1975) was an American literary critic, short story writer, essayist, and teacher. He was one of the leading U.S. critics of the 20th century who analyzed the contemporary cultural, social, ...
remarked on this first novel as "a whole and mature work dominated by a fresh and commanding intelligence".
Subsequent books were similarly received on publication. ''The Manchester Guardian'' commented on ''Howards End
''Howards End'' is a novel by E. M. Forster, first published in 1910, about social conventions, codes of conduct and relationships in turn-of-the-century England. ''Howards End'' is considered by many to be Forster's masterpiece. The book was ...
'', describing it as "a novel of high quality written with what appears to be a feminine brilliance of perception... witty and penetrating." An essay by David Cecil in ''Poets and Storytellers'' (1949) describes Forster as "pulsing with intelligence and sensibility", but primarily concerned with an original moral vision: "He tells a story as well as anyone who ever lived".[David Cecil (1949). ''Poets and Storytellers: A Book of Critical Essays''. Macmillan.]
US interest in Forster and appreciation for him were spurred by Lionel Trilling
Lionel Mordecai Trilling (July 4, 1905 – November 5, 1975) was an American literary critic, short story writer, essayist, and teacher. He was one of the leading U.S. critics of the 20th century who analyzed the contemporary cultural, social, ...
's ''E. M. Forster: A Study'', which called him "the only living novelist who can be read again and again and who, after each reading, gives me what few writers can give us after our first days of novel-reading, the sensation of having learned something."
Criticism of his works has included comment on unlikely pairings of characters who marry or get engaged, and the lack of realistic depiction of sexual attraction.
Key themes
Forster was President of the Cambridge Humanists from 1959 until his death and a member of the Advisory Council of the British Humanist Association from 1963 until his death. His views as a humanist
Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry.
The meaning of the term "humani ...
are at the heart of his work, which often depicts the pursuit of personal connections despite the restrictions of contemporary society. His humanist attitude is expressed in the 1938 essay '' What I Believe'' (reprinted with two other humanist essays – and an introduction and notes by Nicolas Walter
Nicolas Hardy Walter (22 November 1934 – 7 March 2000) was a British anarchist and atheist writer, speaker and activist. He was a member of the Committee of 100 and Spies for Peace, and wrote on topics of anarchism and humanism.
Background ...
– as ''What I Believe, and other essays'' by the secular humanist publishers G. W. Foote & Co. in 1999). When Forster's cousin, Philip Whichelo, donated a portrait of Forster to the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association
LGBT Humanists UK, founded in 1979, is a special interest section of Humanists UK which campaigns for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality and human rights in the United Kingdom. It also organises social events for LGBT humanist ...
(GLHA), Jim Herrick
Jim Herrick (born 1944) is a British humanist and secularist. He studied history and English literature at Trinity College, Cambridge University, and then worked as a school teacher for seven years. He has written or edited several books on hum ...
, the founder, quoted Forster's words: "The humanist has four leading characteristics – curiosity, a free mind, belief in good taste, and belief in the human race."
Forster's two best-known works, ''A Passage to India'' and ''Howards End'', explore the irreconcilability of class differences. ''A Room with a View
''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 a ...
'' also shows how questions of propriety and class can make human connection difficult. The novel is his most widely read and accessible work, remaining popular long after its original publication. His posthumous novel ''Maurice Maurice may refer to:
People
* Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr
* Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor
*Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and ...
'' explores the possibility of class reconciliation as one facet of a homosexual relationship.
Sexuality is another key theme in Forster's works. Some critics have argued that a general shift from heterosexual to homosexual love can be observed through the course of his writing career. The foreword to ''Maurice'' describes his struggle with his homosexuality, while he explored similar issues in several volumes of short stories. Forster's explicitly homosexual writings, the novel ''Maurice'' and the short story collection '' The Life to Come,'' were published shortly after his death.
Forster is noted for his use of symbol
A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise very different conc ...
ism as a technique in his novels, and he has been criticised (as by his friend Roger Fry
Roger Eliot Fry (14 December 1866 – 9 September 1934) was an English painter and critic, and a member of the Bloomsbury Group. Establishing his reputation as a scholar of the Old Masters, he became an advocate of more recent developme ...
) for his attachment to mysticism
Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in u ...
. One example of his symbolism is the wych elm
''Ulmus glabra'' Hudson, the wych elm or Scots elm, has the widest range of the European elm species, from Ireland eastwards to the Urals, and from the Arctic Circle south to the mountains of the Peloponnese and Sicily, where the species reaches i ...
tree in ''Howards End.'' The characters of Mrs Wilcox in that novel and Mrs Moore in ''A Passage to India'' have a mystical link with the past, and a striking ability to connect with people from beyond their own circles. Henry James, E. M. Forster and Somerset Maugham were the earliest fiction writers to portray characters from diverse countries – France, Germany, Italy and India. Their work explores cultural conflict, but arguably the motifs of humanism and cosmopolitanism are dominant. In a way this is anticipation of the concept of human beings shedding national identities and becoming more and more liberal and tolerant.
Notable works
Novels
*''Where Angels Fear to Tread
''Where Angels Fear to Tread'' (1905) is a novel by E. M. Forster. The title comes from a line in Alexander Pope's ''An Essay on Criticism'': "For fools rush in where angels fear to tread".
The BBC adapted the novel for television in 1966 as ...
'' (1905)
*''The Longest Journey
''The Longest Journey'' ( nb, Den Lengste Reisen) is a magical realism, magical realist Adventure game, point-and-click adventure video game developed by Norway, Norwegian studio Funcom for Microsoft Windows and released in 1999.
The game was a ...
'' (1907)
*''A Room with a View
''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 a ...
'' (1908)
*''Howards End
''Howards End'' is a novel by E. M. Forster, first published in 1910, about social conventions, codes of conduct and relationships in turn-of-the-century England. ''Howards End'' is considered by many to be Forster's masterpiece. The book was ...
'' (1910)
*''A Passage to India
''A Passage to India'' is a 1924 novel by English author E. M. Forster set against the backdrop of the British Raj and the Indian independence movement in the 1920s. It was selected as one of the 100 great works of 20th century English litera ...
'' (1924)
*''Maurice Maurice may refer to:
People
* Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr
* Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor
*Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and ...
'' (written in 1913–14, published posthumously in 1971)
Short stories
*'' The Celestial Omnibus (and other stories)'' (1911)
*''The Eternal Moment and other stories
''The Eternal Moment and Other Stories'' is the title of a collection of short stories by E. M. Forster, first published in 1928 by Sidgwick & Jackson. It contains stories written between about 1903 and 1914. Together with the stories contained ...
'' (1928)
*''Collected Short Stories'' (1947) a combination of the above two titles, containing:
**"The Story of a Panic"
**" The Other Side of the Hedge"
**"The Celestial Omnibus"
**"Other Kingdom"
**"The Curate's Friend"
**"The Road from Colonus"
**"The Machine Stops
"The Machine Stops" is a science fiction short story (12,300 words) by E. M. Forster. After initial publication in ''The Oxford and Cambridge Review'' (November 1909), the story was republished in Forster's ''The Eternal Moment and Other Storie ...
"
**"The Point of It"
**"Mr Andrews"
**"Co-ordination"
**"The Story of the Siren"
**"The Eternal Moment"
*''The Life to Come and other stories'' (1972) (posthumous) containing the following stories written between approximately 1903 and 1960:
**"Ansell"
**"Albergo Empedocle"
**"The Purple Envelope"
**"The Helping Hand"
**"The Rock"
**" The Life to Come"
**"Dr Woolacott"
**"Arthur Snatchfold"
**"The Obelisk"
**"What Does It Matter? A Morality"
**" The Classical Annex"
**"The Torque"
**"The Other Boat
''The Other Boat'' is a short story by E. M. Forster
Edward Morgan Forster (1 January 1879 – 7 June 1970) was an English author, best known for his novels, particularly ''A Room with a View'' (1908), ''Howards End'' (1910), and ''A Passag ...
"
**"Three Courses and a Dessert: Being a New and Gastronomic Version of the Old Game of Consequences", of which Forster wrote ''The Second Course'' (''The First Course'' was written by Christopher Dilke, ''The Third Course'' by A. E. Coppard and ''The Dessert'' by James Laver
James Laver, CBE, FRSA (14 March 1899 – 3 June 1975) was an English author, critic, art historian, and museum curator who acted as Keeper of Prints, Drawings and Paintings for the Victoria and Albert Museum between 1938 and 1959. He was also ...
)
Plays and pageants
*''Abinger Pageant'' (1934)
*''England's Pleasant Land'' (1940)
Film scripts
*''A Diary for Timothy
''A Diary for Timothy'' (1945) is a British documentary film directed by Humphrey Jennings. It was produced by Basil Wright for the Crown Film Unit.
The narration was written by the British author E. M. Forster (spoken by Michael Redgrave) and ...
'' (1945) (directed by Humphrey Jennings
Frank Humphrey Sinkler Jennings (19 August 1907 – 24 September 1950) was an English documentary filmmaker and one of the founders of the Mass Observation organisation. Jennings was described by film critic and director Lindsay Anderson in 195 ...
, spoken by Michael Redgrave
Sir Michael Scudamore Redgrave CBE (20 March 1908 – 21 March 1985) was an English stage and film actor, director, manager and author. He received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in ''Mourning Becomes Elect ...
)
Libretto
*''Billy Budd
''Billy Budd, Sailor (An Inside Narrative)'' is a novella by American writer Herman Melville, left unfinished at his death in 1891. Acclaimed by critics as a masterpiece when a hastily transcribed version was finally published in 1924, it quick ...
'' (1951) (with Eric Crozier
Eric Crozier OBE (14 November 19147 September 1994) was a British theatrical director, opera librettist and producer, long associated with Benjamin Britten.
Early life and career
Crozier was born in London and studied at the Royal Academy of Dra ...
; based on Melville's novel
A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...
, for the opera by Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...
)
Collections of essays and broadcasts
*''Abinger Harvest
''Abinger Harvest'' is a 1936 non-fiction book by English author E.M. Forster. The book is a mixture of autobiographical writing and literary criticism, along with essays and poems written by Forster as a freelancer spanning back to 1903. This, al ...
'' (1936)
*''Two Cheers for Democracy
''Two Cheers for Democracy'' is the second collection of essays by E. M. Forster, published in 1951, and incorporating material from 1936 onwards. The humorous title is not directly connected with the essays themselves and, according to the prefac ...
'' (1951)
*''The Prince's Tale and Other Uncollected Writings'' (1998)
* Forster in Egypt: A Graeco-Alexandrian Encounter: E.M. Forster's First Interview, eds., Hilda D. Spear and Abdel-Moneim Aly (London, 1987)
* The Uncollected Egyptian Essays of E. M. Forster, eds.,Hilda D. Spear and Abdel-Moneim Aly (Dundee, 1988)
Literary criticism
*''Aspects of the Novel
''Aspects of the Novel'' is a book based on a series of lectures delivered by E. M. Forster at Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1927. Here, Forster discusses the English language novel. By using examples from classic texts, he highlights what he se ...
'' (1927)
*''The Feminine Note in Literature'' (posthumous) (2001)
*
The Creator as Critic and Other Writings
''
Biography
*''Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson'' (1934)
*''Marianne Thornton, A Domestic Biography'' (1956)
Travel writing
*''Alexandria: A History and Guide'' (1922)
*''Pharos and Pharillon (A Novelist's Sketchbook of Alexandria Through the Ages)'' (1923)
*''The Hill of Devi'' (1953)
Miscellaneous writings
*''Selected Letters'' (1983–85)
*''Commonplace Book'' (facsimile ed. 1978; edited by Philip Gardner, 1985)
*''Locked Diary'' (2007) (held at King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the city ...
)
*''Arctic Summer'' (novel fragment, written in 1912–13, published posthumously in 2003)
*''Rooksnest'' (1894 and 1901), a description by Forster of his childhood home, on which he based ''Howards End''.[Appendix to Penguin English Library edition of ''Howards End''. London 1983.]
Notable films and drama based upon Forster's fiction
*''The Machine Stops
"The Machine Stops" is a science fiction short story (12,300 words) by E. M. Forster. After initial publication in ''The Oxford and Cambridge Review'' (November 1909), the story was republished in Forster's ''The Eternal Moment and Other Storie ...
'' (1966), dramatised for the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
anthology series ''
Out of the Unknown
''Out of the Unknown'' is a British television science fiction anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and broadcast on BBC2 in four series between 1965 and 1971. Most episodes of the first three series were a dramatisation of a science f ...
''
*''
A Passage to India
''A Passage to India'' is a 1924 novel by English author E. M. Forster set against the backdrop of the British Raj and the Indian independence movement in the 1920s. It was selected as one of the 100 great works of 20th century English litera ...
'' (1984), dir.
David Lean
Sir David Lean (25 March 190816 April 1991) was an English film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Widely considered one of the most important figures in British cinema, Lean directed the large-scale epics ''The Bridge on the River ...
*''
A Room with a View
''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 a ...
'' (1985), dir.
James Ivory
James Francis Ivory (born June 7, 1928) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. For many years, he worked extensively with Indian-born film producer Ismail Merchant, his domestic as well as professional partner, and with screen ...
*''
Maurice Maurice may refer to:
People
* Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr
* Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor
*Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and ...
'' (1987), dir. James Ivory
*''
Where Angels Fear to Tread
''Where Angels Fear to Tread'' (1905) is a novel by E. M. Forster. The title comes from a line in Alexander Pope's ''An Essay on Criticism'': "For fools rush in where angels fear to tread".
The BBC adapted the novel for television in 1966 as ...
'' (1991), dir.
Charles Sturridge
Charles B. G. Sturridge (born 24 June 1951) is an English director and screenwriter. He is the recipient of a BAFTA Children's Award and four BAFTA TV Awards. He has also been nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards.
Early life and educatio ...
*''
Howards End
''Howards End'' is a novel by E. M. Forster, first published in 1910, about social conventions, codes of conduct and relationships in turn-of-the-century England. ''Howards End'' is considered by many to be Forster's masterpiece. The book was ...
'' (1992), dir. James Ivory
*''
Howards End
''Howards End'' is a novel by E. M. Forster, first published in 1910, about social conventions, codes of conduct and relationships in turn-of-the-century England. ''Howards End'' is considered by many to be Forster's masterpiece. The book was ...
'' (2017), BBC One miniseries, dir. Hettie MacDonald
*''The Inheritance (play), The Inheritance'' (2018), play by Matthew Lopez (playwright), Matthew Lopez, adapted from ''
Howards End
''Howards End'' is a novel by E. M. Forster, first published in 1910, about social conventions, codes of conduct and relationships in turn-of-the-century England. ''Howards End'' is considered by many to be Forster's masterpiece. The book was ...
'', and featuring Forster as a character
References
Further reading
*M. H. Abrams and Stephen Greenblatt, "E. M. Forster." ''The Norton Anthology of English Literature'', Vol. 2C, 7th Edition. New York: W. W. Norton, 2000: 2131–2140
*J. R. Ackerley, ''E. M. Forster: A Portrait'' (London: Ian McKelvie, 1970)
*Parminder Kaur Bakshi, ''Distant Desire. Homoerotic Codes and the Subversion of the English Novel in E. M. Forster's Fiction'' (New York, 1996)
*Nicola Beauman, ''Morgan'' (London, 1993)
*Lawrence Brander, ''E. M. Forster. A critical study'' (London, 1968)
*E. K. Brown, ''Rhythm in the Novel'' (University of Toronto Press, Canada, 1950)
*Glen Cavaliero, ''A Reading of E.M. Forster'' (London, 1979)
*S. M. Chanda, "A Passage to India: A Close Look" in ''A Collection of Critical Essays'', New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers
*Stuart Christie, ''Worlding Forster: The Passage from Pastoral'' (Routledge, 2005)
*John Colmer, ''E. M. Forster – The personal voice'' (London, 1975)
*Frederick Crews, ''E. M. Forster: The Perils of Humanism'' (Textbook Publishers, 2003)
*''E. M. Forster'', ed. by Norman Page, Macmillan Modern Novelists (Houndmills, 1987)
*''E. M. Forster: The critical heritage'', ed. by Philip Gardner (London, 1973)
*''Forster: A collection of Critical Essays'', ed. by Malcolm Bradbury (New Jersey, 1966)
*E. M. Forster, ''What I Believe, and other essays'', Freethinker's Classics #3, ed. by Nicolas Walter (London, G. W. Foote & Co. Ltd, 1999 and 2016)
*P. N. Furbank, Furbank, P.N., ''E.M. Forster: A Life'' (London, 1977–1978)
*Michael Haag, ''Alexandria: City of Memory'' (London and New Haven, 2004). This portrait of Alexandria during the first half of the 20th century includes a biographical account of E. M. Forster, his life in the city, his relationship with Constantine P. Cavafy, Constantine Cavafy, and his influence on Lawrence Durrell.
*Judith Herz and Robert K. Martin, ''E. M. Forster: Centenary Revaluations'' (Macmillan Press, 1982)
*Frank Kermode, ''Concerning E. M. Forster'' (London, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2010)
*Francis King, ''E. M. Forster and his World'' (London, 1978).
*Mary Lago, ''Calendar of the Letters of E. M. Forster'' (London: Mansell, 1985)
*Mary Lago, ''Selected Letters of E. M. Forster'' (Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1983–1985)
*Mary Lago, ''E. M. Forster: A Literary Life'' (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1995)
*
Tim Leggatt, ''Connecting with E. M. Forster: a memoir'' (Hesperus Press, 2012)
*Robin Jared Lewis, ''E. M. Forster's Passages to India'' (New York: Columbia University Press, 1979
*John Sayre Martin, ''E. M. Forster. The endless journey'' (London, 1976)
*Robert K. Martin and George Piggford, eds, ''Queer Forster'' (Chicago, 1997)
*Pankaj Mishra, ed. "E. M. Forster", ''India in Mind: An Anthology''. New York: Vintage Books, 2005: pp. 61–70
*Wendy Moffat, ''E. M. Forster: A New Life'' (Bloomsbury, 2010)
*Peter Rose, "The Peculiar Charms of E. M. Forster", ''Australian Book Review'' (December 2010/January 2011). Forster in his social contex
Retrieved 28 November 2013*Nicolas Royle, ''E. M. Forster (Writers & Their Work'' (London: Northcote House Publishers, 1999)
*P. J. M. Scott, ''E. M. Forster: Our Permanent Contemporary,'' Critical Studies Series (London, 1984)
*Sofia Sogos, "Nature and Mystery in Edward Morgan Forster's Tales", ed. Giorgia Sogos (Bonn: Free Pen Verlag, 2018)
*Oliver Stallybrass, "Editor's Introduction", ''Howards End'' (Harmondsworth, UK: Penguin English Library, 1983)
*Wilfred H. Stone, ''The Cave and the Mountain: a study of E. M. Forster'' (1964)
*Claude J. Summers, ''E. M. Forster'' (New York, 1983)
*
*K. Natwar Singh, ed., ''E. M. Forster: A Tribute, With Selections from his Writings on India'', Contributors: Ahmed Ali (writer), Ahmed Ali, Mulk Raj Anand, V. K. Narayana Menon, Narayana Menon, Raja Rao and Santha Rama Rau, (On Forster's Eighty Fifth Birthday), New York: Harcourt, Brace & World Inc., 1 January 1964
*Kathleen Verduin, "Medievalism, Classicism, and the Fiction of E.M. Forster," ''Medievalism in the Modern World. Essays in Honour of Leslie J. Workman'', ed. Richard Utz and Tom Shippey (Turnhout: Brepols, 1998), pp. 263–286
*Alan Wilde, ''Art and Order. A Study of E.M. Forster'' (New York, 1967)
External links
;Digital collections
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;Physical collections
Mary Lago Collection at the University of Missouri Libraries. Research papers of a Forster scholar.
E M Forsterat the British Library
Finding aid to E.M. Forster papers at Columbia University. Rare Book & Manuscript Library.E.M. Forster Collectionat the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas at Austin
Additional E.M. Forster manuscript itemsare housed at various archival repositories.
;General portals
Aspects of E. M. Forster"Only Connect": The unofficial Forster siteInternational E.M. Forster SocietyE. M. Forster at the The Encyclopedia of Fantasy, Encyclopedia of Fantasy
E. M. Forsterat the The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, Encyclopedia of Science Fiction
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;LGBT
''With Downcast Gays'' Andrew Hodges and David Hutter, The Gay Liberation pamphlet (1974)
on glbtq.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Forster, Edward Morgan
E. M. Forster,
1879 births
1970 deaths
20th-century English novelists
Alumni of King's College, Cambridge
English conscientious objectors
British people of World War I
English agnostics
English essayists
English humanists
English people of Irish descent
English people of Welsh descent
English short story writers
English gay writers
James Tait Black Memorial Prize recipients
English LGBT novelists
Male essayists
English male short story writers
Members of the Order of Merit
Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour
Modernist writers
National Council for Civil Liberties people
People educated at Tonbridge School
People from Dewas
People from Marylebone
People of Anglo-Irish descent
Academics of the Institute of Continuing Education
Red Cross personnel
Bloomsbury Group
British gay writers