Howards EndWhen Howards End was published in 1910, critics generally agreed it surpassed E. M. Forster's earlier novels. Forster had arrived as an important author of his generation. Forster's novels are all now considered classics, with Howards End and A Passage to India regarded as his best works. Howards End tells a superbly crafted story of social class tensions between three families in turn-of-the-century England. "We are not concerned with the very poor. They are unthinkable, and only to be approached by the statistician or the poet. This story deals with gentlefolk, or with those who are obliged to pretend that they are gentlefolk."-p. 49."By all means subscribe to charities-subscribe to them largely-but don't get carried away by absurd schemes of Social Reform. I see a good deal behind the scenes and you can take it from me that there is no Social Question-except for a few journalists who try to get a living out of the phrase. There are just rich and poor, as there always has been and always will be."-p. 203.Edward Morgan Forster (1879-1970) was born in London. He attended the Tonbridge School in Kent, then went on to study history, philosophy, and literature at King's College, Cambridge. He wrote six novels, short stories, essays, and other nonfiction. In 1953 he was made a Companion of Honour and in 1969 was appointed to the Order of Merit. At the age of ninety, on 7 June 1970, Forster died at the home of Robert Buckingham, his friend and long-time companion.Dr. Craig Paterson, Series Editor, Viewforth Classics. |