Howards End

‘Howards End’ is a novel by E.M. Forster about social and familial relations in turn-of-the-century England. It is considered by some to be Forster's masterpiece. First published in 1910, it is the novel that earned E.M. Forster recognition as a major writer. Set in Edwardian England, the novel is the portrait of a lost era, a deceptively golden time before the First World War that would change values and lifestyles forever.
At its heart lie two families—the wealthy and business-minded Wilcoxes and the cultured and idealistic Schlegels. It 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.
The novel cemented Forster’s reputation as one of the leading novelists of the early 20th century and remains one of his most acclaimed works.

Edward Morgan Forster, generally published as E.M. Forster, was an novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is known best for his ironic and well-plotted novels examining class difference and hypocrisy in early 20th-century British society. His humanistic impulse toward understanding and sympathy may be aptly summed up in the epigraph to his 1910 novel Howards End: "Only connect".

He had five novels published in his lifetime, achieving his greatest success with A Passage to India (1924) which takes as its subject the relationship between East and West, seen through the lens of India in the later days of the British Raj.

Forster's views as a secular humanist are at the heart of his work, which often depicts the pursuit of personal connections in spite of the restrictions of contemporary society. He is noted for his use of symbolism as a technique in his novels, and he has been criticised for his attachment to mysticism. His other works include Where Angels Fear to Tread (1905), The Longest Journey (1907), A Room with a View (1908) and Maurice (1971), his posthumously published novel which tells of the coming of age of an explicitly gay male character.