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A Room With a View
(1908)
This Edwardian social comedy explores love and prim propriety among an eccentric cast of characters assembled in an Italian pensione and in a corner of Surrey, England. A charming young English woman, Lucy Honeychurch, faints into the arms of a fellow Britisher when she witnesses a murder in a Florentine piazza. Attracted to this man, George Emerson--who is entirely unsuitable and whose father just may be a Socialist--Lucy is soon at war with the snobbery of her class and her own conflicting desires. Back in England she is courted by a more acceptable, if stifling, suitor, and soon realizes she must make a startling decision that will decide the course of her future: she is forced to choose between convention and passion. The enduring delight of this tale of romantic intrigue is rooted in Forster's colorful characters, including outrageous spinsters, pompous clergymen and outspoken patriots. Written in 1908, A Room With A View is one of E.M. Forster's earliest and most celebrated works.
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Recent Forum Posts on A Room With a View
"I think I shall live."
What a delightful read! A few months ago I picked up this book, read seventy or so pages, and then put it down because I was bored with it. I don't know, back then I must have been impatient! But I picked it up again this past week, read it in a few days, and was delighted. It is especially interesting to read this book after having read A Passage to India. There are endless similarities between the two... both in theme, and in conception of character. I notice that Mr. Beebe is much like the schoolmaster (and close friend and confidant of Dr. Aziz) - I forget his name, but he's one of the main characters. They are both wise men, unentangled by the romances, indifferent to women, observing from the outside. They seem to me to be the portals through which E.M. Forster's homosexuality enters the novels. There are countless other similarities, but they are not worth drowning this post in. But perhaps what is worth a discussion are Forster's views on the two genders. From the two novels of his that I have read, Forster doesn't seen to have any strong female characters and, on the contrary, his female characters seem to be either naive or superficial. Both Miss Quested and Lucy Honeychurch undergo much disillusionment in the novels. The rest of the female characters seem to care more about delicacy than beauty, and on the whole are very superficial. To examine the way he conceives male characters, one should look at Dr. Aziz and George Emerson, Mr. Beebe and the schoolmaster (oh, how I hate that I forget his name). Dr. Aziz and George Emerson are both passionate men who are right in their principles, but are unable to accomodate the prejudiced views of their environment. Mr. Beebe and the schoolmaster are both wise men, observers, indifferent to the petty women in their environments, providing the closest insight into Forster himself. One can see, then, how Forster's personal indifference to women manifests itself in the novels.
View?
I have just finished this novel. This one is a good one especially the role of the heroine, who struggles between convention and her own passion. This character is rather tipicall at that time, while at last she submits to her own heart. I want to raise a question for those who have already reading it. Does the word "view" in the title has any deep meaning and why the author chooses this name? Look forward to your answers!!!;)
Based in my hometown
The area where Summer Street is, is actually down the road from where I currently live (in Surrey) and is actually called Friday Street. When I was in college our tutor took us out with the book and made us read it where it was actually set. This made us more interested in the book and I can now happily say that this is one of my favourites. However, to see his real skill at writing I would look to his short stories as well. Particularly The Machine Stops.
fav!!
My all-time favourite book and film! Day Lewis, Callow and Elliott are superbly funny in the movie, the casting was either very lucky or a stroke of genius.
A Room With A View
A Room With A View by E.M. Forster was my most recently read book. I have read this particular book several times now. I usually catch something that I missed the time before. I find this book to be quite interesting. It has a lot to do with life, society and love. Forster did a wonderful job at making the characters come alive. Lucy is such a delightful character, who has quite the dilemma on her hands.
A Room with a View
I read this book right after I read "A Room of One's Own" by Virginia Woolf. There is such an interesting connection between the two as if Woolf wrote the nonfiction explanation and Forster wrote the fictional explanation of the women of the day. His book has subtle comments that parrallel Woolf's and often explains her better than she is able to do herself.
More Than Just
Obviously "A Room With a View" is a symbol for "a LIFE with a view" - which is what Lucy Honeychurch wouldn't have had with Cecil Vyse. The plot ambles along at a deadly slow pace. But such was the pace of life for many in this Edwardian era. I think I might have found the book even tougher going were I not familiar with the film and just embarking on watching it again - I grow fonder of the film with each successive viewing. Such a splendid adaptation - it probably wasn't easy.
Lovely
I picked up A Room With A View at Barnes and Noble, and didn't know what to expect. It was listed as a classic so I thought I'd check it out, and so I bought it along with The Jungle and Dracula. It was the shortest of the three books so I cracked the hard cover open and began reading. It took a little effort getting into the book, but eventually my imagination start running with the scenery and things got better. I ultimately found the books perspective on society and love inspiring and good. The revelation this book provided to me basically has to do with the art of "getting in love" or "falling in love", and how that effects our lives. I would recommend A Room With A View to most anyone, and I am interested to see what else E. M. Forster writes about.
No Subject
A Room With A View is currenlty my favorite novel in the entire world. Those who bash it for being dull may be right but in my opinion have not given it the chance it so richly deserves. While the story may be a bit slow the writing is eloquent and captivating. The people who toss it aside as boring and dull miss the wonderful point that Forster is putting across. I wish i had read this work in school so that a teacher could explain it to me better than my own humble interpretation. I feel however that Forster illustrates in this novel the importance of love better than any other work I have encountered. I understand that this is and was no new concept but Forster brought it to a whole new level that I have yet put into words myself. I have read that this is actually not the strongest of Forster's novels and so I have resolved to read Howard's End before the summer is out.
beautifully done
I loved A Room with a View. My stepdad recommended I read it to prepare for English in University. So when we needed to pick a novel for an oral book report, I chose this one. I wasn't sure if I was going to like it at first, but by the end of the second chapter I was hooked. The book drew me in subtely and before I knew it, I couldn't wait to find out what happened next. The movie version was also excellent.
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