A Room With A View/ Howard's End/ Maurice

by E.M. Forster

In A Room With A View, published in 1908, the beautiful Miss Lucy Honeychurch is inhibited by the restrictive conventions of Edwardian England. But during her first visit to Italy, the close supervision of her guardian cannot prevent new passions from stirring, passions which throw attentions of a stuffy suitor and an entire way of life into doubt. In Howard's End, published in 1910, Forster follows the relationship of the Wilcox family, landed aristocrats who over the generations have become increasingly concerned with minding their money, and the Sclegel sisters, Helen and Margaret, cultivated and politically liberal young women of German extraction who are alternately repelled and attracted by the Wilcoxes and their heritage. The novel also resonates with Forster's concern for his nation. According to Lionel Trilling, who called it Forster's masterpiece, the novel asks, "Who shall inherit England?" Forster completed Maurice in 1914, but it was not published until 1971. It tells the story of Maurice Hall, an undergraduate at Cambridge before World War 1 who discovers that he is homosexual. The manuscript was found in Forster's rooms at Cambridge after his death in 1970. "Publishable," a note on the manuscript in his own hand said, "but worth it?" Acclaim for the novel on its publication firmly answered Forster's question. "An extraordinary work to have been written when it was, honest, compassionate, and sympathetic," said Publishers Weekly in 1971. And the New York Times called it, "A wonderful novel to read rich in its subtle intelligence, beautifully controlled in its development, deeply moving in short, the work of an exceptional artist working close to the peak of his creative powers."

Genres: Fiction, Classics, Literature, Historical Fiction, Romance

966 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

Edward Morgan Forster, generally published as E.M. Forster, was an novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is known best for his ironic and well-plotted novels examining class difference and hypocrisy in early 20th-century British society. His humanistic impulse toward understanding and sympathy may be aptly summed up in the epigraph to his 1910 novel Howards End: "Only connect".

He had five novels published in his lifetime, achieving his greatest success with A Passage to India (1924) which takes as its subject the relationship between East and West, seen through the lens of India in the later days of the British Raj.

Forster's views as a secular humanist are at the heart of his work, which often depicts the pursuit of personal connections in spite of the restrictions of contemporary society. He is noted for his use of symbolism as a technique in his novels, and he has been criticised for his attachment to mysticism. His other works include Where Angels Fear to Tread (1905), The Longest Journey (1907), A Room with a View (1908) and Maurice (1971), his posthumously published novel which tells of the coming of age of an explicitly gay male character.

Reviews

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

All three of these novels are wonderful. But I think I liked Maurice the best.

[Sophie Carbone · Rating 4 out of 5]

Room with a View:
This was absolutely delightful! Even if I couldn’t get behind the romance in this... the writing was hilarious and the characters were just as funny and delightful as well. There is a part of me that is hoping that with how funny the book is I am missing the commentary and satire here and that she really wasn’t meant to end up with either, but there is a part of me that also isn’t sure at all.... really didn’t like either of the love interests for Lucy... so the ending did sorely disappoint me, but the rest was very fun!

[Anne Charlton · Rating 3 out of 5]

E. M. Forster has written several novels that have become classics. This one, like his others, is about class distinctions....and individuals. Lucy and her aunt are upper class women touring Italy. There they meet two men who are polite, but sullen and critical. The men stay with them, and even return to England when they do. Lucy begins to see the shallowness of her fiance, and follows her mixed feelings for the new man. It is set back in the 1800s, good view of English society.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed A Room With A View, since it's been years since I viewed the Merchant Ivory film adaptation. I want to re-read this again later. Howard's End is a re-read this time, which I chose to companion the book with the audio version. I read it again to prepare for reading "On Beauty" by Zadie Smith. Maurice is the icing on the cake for this book. It's a sensitive and engaging story that is truly a love letter to those who can appreciate it.

[Marcos · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Room with a View *****/5

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Room with a View, reread, best reading experience I've had with it.

[Rebecca Alger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic

[Cynthia Lowell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened to the audiobook version of this comedy about relationships and how prim and proper can be mistaken .

[Cecily Winter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a droll read about the gender wars and romance of the early 20th century. Very entertaining, although men do seem to hog the narrative.

[Christopher Corrado]

A Room With A View - 3.5 stars

Howard’s End - 3 stars

Maurice - 4 stars

[Stephen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read Room With A View. Will read Howard's End and Maurice later.
Read Howards End. It certainly reveals how upper Middle Class people lived at the turn of the century.

[Michele Brack · Rating 3 out of 5]

#35 A book set in a hotel

I know I saw the movie for this book many years ago when I was going through a Helena Bonham-Carter phase. Don't ask, I have no idea.

This is one of those books that I am glad that I read, but will probably never call it one of my favorites. There are just certain aspects of the book that I just don't find all that entertaining. Something about the uptight and proper way a lady is supposed to act just grates on my nerves. And even in rebellion, these woman (girls really) are so snotty and unbending. Were women really like that? I can't even imagine.

This book really didn't have a plot that I would sink my teeth into. Mainly because that plot was subdued under frivolity and the insistence of nothing being proper or good enough for anyone anywhere ever. There was something wrong with every little thing so that any enjoyment of a thing had to be kept hidden in shame. I just don't get that.

Then again, I also don't really believe in those love stories where the two people only meet once and never talk to each other. Call me a cynic.

[Tinquerbelle]

1) A Room with a View
2) Howard's End
3) Maurice