Howards End (Barnes & Noble Classics Series)

All editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. pulls together a constellation of influences—biographical, historical, and literary—to enrich each readers understanding of these enduring works. Written in 1910, is a symbolic exploration of the social, economic, and intellectual forces at work in England in the years preceding World War I, a time when vast social changes were occurring. In the Schlegels and the Wilcoxes, Forster perfectly embodies the competing idealism and materialism of the upper classes, while the conflict over the ownership of Howards End represents the struggle for possession of the country’s future. As critic Lionel Trilling once noted, the novel asks, “Who shall inherit England?” Forster refuses to take sides in this conflict. Instead he poses one of the book’s central questions: In a changing modern society, what should be the relation between the inner and outer life, between the world of the intellect and the world of business? Can they ever, as Forster urges, “only connect”? is a McIntosh Professor of English at Barnard College. Her best-selling novels include , and . She has also published a memoir, a book of novellas, a collection of stories, and two books of essays. Her most recent work is a biography of Joan of Arc.