Howards End

Amazon.com Review Margaret Schlegel, engaged to the much older, widowed Henry Wilcox, meets her intended the morning after accepting his proposal and realizes that he is a man who has lived without introspection or true self-knowledge. As she contemplates the state of Wilcox's soul, her remedy for what ails him has become one of the most oft-quoted passages in literature: Only connect! That was the whole of her sermon. Only connect the prose and the passion and both will be exalted, and human love will be seen at its height. Live in fragments no longer. Like all of Forster's work, Howards End concerns itself with class, nationality, economic status, and how each of these affects personal relationships. It follows the intertwined fortunes of the Schlegel sisters, Margaret and Helen, and the Wilcox family over the course of several years. The Schlegels are intellectuals, devotees of art and literature. The Wilcoxes, on the other hand, can't be bothered with the life of the mind or the heart, leading, instead, outer lives of "telegrams and anger" that foster "such virtues as neatness, decision, and obedience, virtues of the second rank, no doubt, but they have formed our civilization." Helen, after a brief flirtation with one of the Wilcox sons, has developed an antipathy for the family; Margaret, however, forms a brief but intense friendship with Mrs. Wilcox, which is cut short by the older woman's death. When her family discovers a scrap of paper requesting that Henry give their home, Howards End, to Margaret, it precipitates a spiritual crisis among them that will take years to resolve. Forster's 1910 novel begins as a collection of seemingly unrelated events--Helen's impulsive engagement to Paul Wilcox; a chance meeting between the Schlegel sisters and an impoverished clerk named Leonard Bast at a concert; a casual conversation between the sisters and Henry Wilcox in London one night. But as it moves along, these disparate threads gradually knit into a tightly woven fabric of tragic misunderstandings, impulsive actions, and irreparable consequences, and, eventually, connection. Though set in the early years of the 20th century, Howards End seems even more suited to our own fragmented era of e-mails and anger. For readers living in such an age, the exhortation to "only connect" resonates ever more profoundly. --Alix Wilber Review With a new Introduction by James Ivory Commentary by Virginia Woolf, Lionel Trilling, Malcolm Bradbury, and Joseph Epstein " Howards End is a classic English novel . . . superb and wholly cherishable . . . one that admirers have no trouble reading over and over again," said Alfred Kazin. First published in 1910, Howards End is the novel that earned E. M. Forster recognition as a major writer. At its heart lie two families—the wealthy and business-minded Wilcoxes and the cultured and idealistic Schlegels. When the beautiful and independent Helen Schlegel begins an impetuous affair with the ardent Paul Wilcox, a series of events is sparked—some very funny, some very tragic—that results in a dispute over who will inherit Howards End, the Wilcoxes' charming country home. As much about the clash between individual wills as the clash between the sexes and the classes, Howards End is a novel whose central tenet, "Only connect," remains a powerful prescription for modern life. " Howards End is undoubtedly Forster's masterpiece; it develops to their full the themes and attitudes of [his] early books and throws back upon them a new and enhancing light," wrote the critic Lionel Trilling.

to Me, D. H. Lawerence Once Wrote To E. M. Forster, You Are The Last Englishman.

Indeed, Forster's Novels Offer Contemporary Readers Clear, Vibrant Portraits Of Life In Edwardian England. Published In 1908 To Both Critical And Popular Acclaim, a Room With A View Is A Whimsical Comedy Of Manners That Owes More To Jane Austen That Perhaps Any Other Of His Works.

The Central Character Is A Muddled Young Girl Named Lucy Honeychurch, Who Runs Away From The Man Who Stirs Her Emotions, Remaining Engaged To A Rich Snob. Forster Considered It His 'nicest' Novel, And Today It Remains Probably His Most Well Liked. Its Moral Is Utterly Simple. Throw Away Your Etiquette Book And Listen To Your Heart. But It Was Forster's Next Book, Howards End, A Story About Who Would Inhabit A Charming Old Country House (and Who, In A Larger Sense, Would Inherit England), That Earned Him Recognition As A Major Writer.

Centered Around The Conflict Between The Wealthy, Materialistic Wilcox Family And The Cultured, Idealistic Schlegel Sisters-and Informed By Forester's Famous Dictum 'only Connect'-it Is Full Of Tenderness Towards Favorite Characters.

howards End Is A Classic English Novel . . . Superb And Wholly Cherishable . . . One That Admirers Have No Trouble Reading Over And Over Again,' Said Alfred Kazin.

This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.