E. M. Forster

Introduction

E. M. Forster

E. M. Forster had class...though perhaps he would have liked a little less of it. One major theme throughout his body of work, which includes the novels Howards End and Maurice, is an examination of the English class system and its impact on his characters’ personal lives—usually not for the better. Also of particular interest to Forster was the explosive intersection of class and race, which his most acclaimed novel, A Passage to India, examines in the context of England’s decline as a colonial power. A secular humanist throughout his life, Forster was gravely concerned about social, political, and spiritual divisions in the world. In his essay “What I Believe,” he mentions the foundations of how we can all get along a little better: “tolerance, good temper, and sympathy.”

Essential Facts

1. Despite living to the ripe old age of 91, Forster published his last (and some would argue greatest) novel, A Passage to India, when he was just 45.
2. While studying at Cambridge, Forster became a member of the Apostles, a secret intellectual society that has been around for nearly two hundred years.
3. Although he didn’t live to see it, Forster played a key role in the reputation of the filmmaking team of Ismael Merchant and James Ivory. Two of their best-known and highest-regarded films are adaptations of Forster’s work: A Room With a View (1986) and Howards End (1992).
4. Forster was a closeted homosexual throughout his long life. A novel detailing a gay love affair in the midst of the strict English class system, Maurice, was published a year after his death.
5. Following the publication of A Passage to India, Forster shifted his focus and embarked on a very successful career as a broadcaster for the BBC.