Book description
With an essay by Lionel Trilling.
'The poor cannot always reach those whom they want to love, and they
can hardly ever escape from those whom they love no longer. We rich can'
'Only connect.' is the idea at the heart of this book, a heartbreaking
and provocative tale of three families at the beginning of the twentieth
century: the rich Wilcoxes, the gentle, idealistic Schlegels and the
lower-middle class Basts. As the Schlegel sisters try desperately to
help the Basts and educate the close-minded Wilcoxes, the families are
drawn together in love, lies and death.
Frequently cited as E. M. Forster's finest work, Howards End
brilliantly explores class warfare, conflict and the English character.
The Penguin English Library - 100 editions of the best fiction in
English, from the eighteenth century and the very first novels to the
beginning of the First World War. Edward Morgan Forster was born in
London in 1879. A pacifist and conscientious objector during the First
World War, he volunteered instead for the International Red Cross, which
took him to Alexandria. During his lifetime he travelled through Europe,
Egypt and India, wrote six novels, two volumes of short stories, two
collections of essays, two biographies and a libretto for Britten's
opera Billy Budd, declined a knighthood, was made a member of the Order
of Merit, and died at the age of ninety-one.
Where Angels Fear to Tread
and A Room with a View
are also published in the Penguin English Library.
