Howards End -
E. M. Forster
eBook
(Andura Publishing, July 24, 2014)
âOnly connectâŚâ Considered by many to be E. M. Forsterâs greatest novel, Howards End, is a beautifully woven 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.â When the elder Mrs. Wilcox dies and her family discovers she has left their country homeâHowards Endâto one of the Schlegel sisters, a crisis between the two families is precipitated that takes years to resolve. Symbolically, the house brings together three important elements in English society: money and power in the Wilcoxes, culture in the Schlegels and the lower classes as represented by the character of Leonard Bast.Written in 1910, Howards End, is a trenchant exploration of the social, economic, and intellectual forces at work in England in the years preceding World War I, a time when vast social changes were occurring. In the Schlegels and the Wilcoxes, Forster perfectly embodies the competing idealism and materialism of the upper classes, while the conflict over the ownership of the titular property represents the struggle for possession of the countryâs future. As critic Lionel Trilling once noted, the novel asks, "Who shall inherit England?âForster refuses to take sides in this conflict. Instead he poses one of the bookâs central questions: In a changing modern society, what should be the relation between the inner and outer life, between the world of the intellect and the world of business? Can they ever, as Forster urges, "only connectâ?This new digital edition of Forsterâs classic novel includes an image gallery, author biography and a link to a free unabridged audio recording of Howards End. *Image gallery. *Includes essay âWho was E. M. Forster?â*Link to free complete audio recording of Howards End.