BRIEF LIVES: E.M. FORSTER

by Richard Canning

A century after his first novels were published, E.M. Forster remains one of the most widely read and best-loved authors of the twentieth century. He made his name with novels such as A Room with a View, Howards End and A Passage to India which, with their detailed analyses of English snobbery and xenophobia, established him as an uncompromising critic of hypocrisy. Still at the mercy of some social mores, however, he went to some lengths to conceal his sexuality during his lifetime, and wrote, but never published, a novel of gay love, Maurice. With characteristic flair, Richard Canning juxtaposes Forster's public persona as a member of the English literary establishment with the joys and torments of his private life.

Publication date: 01/12/2009