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Howards End
Book

Howards End

London, 1910

Literary Classic

  • Novel
  • Edwardian Era

What It’s About

No Escape

Howards End is a finely nuanced depiction of the relationships among three families from drastically different backgrounds and world views. Their paths cross and intertwine throughout the novel, with fatal consequences. The novel questions the rigid class system and the moral hypocrisy of early 20th-century patriarchal society, but in the end paints a rather bleak picture of the ability either to overcome class barriers or escape gender stereotypes and roles. For example, Leonard Bast has to give up his ambition at bettering himself and ends up ruined, whereas strong, independent and confident Margaret in the end steps into (and accepts) the role of wife and companion to the hypocritical and complacent Henry. It seems there is no escape from the rules and boundaries of society.

Summary

A Brief Romance

The 21-year-old Helen Schlegel is spending time at Howards End, the country home of the Wilcox family. Helen and her older sister Margaret met the Wilcoxes during a trip through Germany. Margaret was unable to join Helen at Howards End as she had to look after their 16-year-old brother Tibby, who is sick with hay fever. The three siblings are orphans. In a letter, Helen tells Margaret how much the Wilcoxes fascinate her despite their old-fashioned and often sexist ideas about women’s rights, in particular the vote for women – a topic close to Margaret’s and Helen’s hearts.

In a subsequent letter, Helen tells Margaret that she has fallen in love with Paul Wilcox, the younger of the two sons. This causes upset in the Schlegel household, in particular for Aunt Juley, who feels responsible for her nieces. Margaret decides to take the train to Howards End immediately, but Aunt Juley persuades her to stay and let her deal with the situation. Margaret takes Aunt Juley to the train station. On Margaret’s return home, she finds a telegram...

About the Author

Edward Morgan Forster was born on January 1, 1879 in London. His father died early, and from age two, he grew up in the sole care of his mother. The sensitive Forster had a tough time with his schoolmates, escaping into the world of literature. It wasn’t until he started studying the classics at King’s College, Cambridge, that he began forming friendships. Many of these were sadly marked by misunderstandings due to Forster’s homosexual tendencies. After finishing his studies, he traveled through Europe with his mother. This experience inspired his first novel, Where Angels Fear to Tread, which was published in 1905. Further novels followed, including A Room with a View (1908) and Howards End (1910). During the 1910s and 1920s, he was a member of the legendary Bloomsbury Group. In 1907, he met the Indian nobleman Syed Ross Masood and fell in love with him. His feelings were unrequited, but he refused to give up. In 1912, he visited Masood in India. It was during this trip that he started A Passage to India, though he only finished the novel ten years later after he his second visit to the country as the private secretary of the Maharajah of Dewas. A Passage to India was to be Forster’s last novel, and it won him several prizes. After its publication, he went on to become a literary critic and successful broadcaster on BBC Radio. He continued to live with his mother until her death in 1945. In 1946, Forster became an Honorary Fellow at King’s College, which allowed him to live there without any obligation to teach during the last 24 years of his life. As a staunch democrat, he turned down a knighthood, but was made a Companion of Honour in 1953. Only his closest friends knew about Forster’s homosexuality, and his homoerotic novel Maurice wasn’t published until 1971, one year after he died of a stroke at the age of 91 in Coventry.  


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