Howards End by E. M. Forster (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide

By Bright Summaries

Unlock the more straightforward side of Howards End with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!

This engaging summary presents an analysis of Howards End by E. M. Forster, which tells the story of the idealistic Schlegel sisters and their turbulent relationship with the Wilcoxes, who care only about money and have no qualms about trampling others to get it. Meanwhile, the sisters seek to help the destitute clerk Leonard Bast, but their well-intentioned meddling ultimately does more harm than good. Howards End cemented Forster’s reputations as one of the leading novelists of the early 20th century and remains one of his most acclaimed works; he is also known for his novels Where Angels Fear to Tread, A Room with a View and A Passage to India.

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• A complete plot summary
• Character studies
• Key themes and symbols
• Questions for further reflection

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• Language: English
• Publisher: BrightSummaries.com
• Release date: Mar 28, 2019
• ISBN: 9782808015240

Book preview

ENGLISH NOVELIST, SHORT STORY WRITER, ESSAYIST AND CRITIC

Born in London in 1879.

Died in Coventry in 1970.

Notable works:

Where Angels Fear to Tread (1905), novel

A Room with a View (1908), novel

A Passage to India (1924), novel

Edward Morgan Forster was born in London in 1879 and was raised by his mother and two aunts after his father died in 1880. In 1883, he moved to Rooksnest, Hertfordshire with his mother, where he had a happy childhood. Forster was educated at Tonbridge school, where he was relentlessly bullied, before attending King’s College, Cambridge, where he studied Classics and History. He travelled widely and drew on his experiences in his writing, before joining the war effort in 1915 as part of the Red Cross in Egypt. After the war, he returned to India and completed his most successful novel, A Passage to India, in 1924. Forster continued to write for numerous publications, as well as becoming a broadcaster for the BBC during World War Two. In 1949, he was offered a knighthood, but declined before becoming a Companion of Honour four years later. Forster died in 1970 after suffering from a stroke.

A SOCIO-POLITICAL COMMENTARY

Genre: novel

Reference edition: Forster, E. M. (1987) Howards End. London: Penguin Classics.

1stedition: 1910

Themes: money, class, culture, urbanisation, nature, feminism, nationalism, inheritance

Howards End (1910) is Forster’s fourth novel, and with its publication, Forster was recognised as one of the leading novelists of his generation (p. 11). The novel follows the two idealistic Schlegel sisters