E.M. Forster: questions, questions, questions…

And a few answers?

Questions, questions, questions…

Where do angels fear to tread?
What was Howard’s End?
How do I find a room with a view?
Do I need to reserve a passage to India?
What’s up with Maurice?

And, obviously, why the hat?...

The Bexley Library Reading Group have recently been looking at E.M. Forster’s books, and – I understand – the verdict was a thumbs up!
But what more do we know about Forster, a most self-effacing man? He himself said “I am quite sure I am not a great novelist”, but history suggests otherwise…

One of the great mysteries of his long life (he died in 1970 aged 90) is why, after the publication of ‘A Passage to India’ in 1924, he never saw another novel published in his own lifetime…Would society have been scandalized by his book ‘Maurice’, which was only published after his death?...
And why was he so melancholy?...His life was full, and rewarding – he was a popular broadcaster, a leading intellectual, and an influential essayist. Today, Forster is being championed as a principled advocate for quiet tolerance, individual humanity, democracy and personal liberty, and the filmed adaptations of his books have achieved worldwide fame…
So why isn’t he better known? What’s missing? Why was he wrongly christened? What was he like?...Might I suggest you try a biography?...
“Only connect” – a phrase he coined – read, and find out…

Above all, if you’ve enjoyed any of Forster’s books, then do tell us and other readers…Use the comments box, and pass it on.

"Do you have a view?"...

TTFN