E.M. FORSTER

 Born January 1 st in London England  Alice Clara nee Whichelo and Edward Morgan Llewellyn Forster  Father was an architect, died soon after Edward was born.  Raised by his mother, aunts, and governesses.  Began writing stories at the age of six.  Many film adaptations of his work. Titles by Forster that are immortalized not only on the page but also on film include A Passage to India (1984), A Room with a View (1986), Where Angels Fear to Tread (1991), and Howards End (1991). EARLY LIFE

EDUCATION  Attended Tonbridge School in Kent County  Detested Tonbridge School, and developed a life-long aversion to the "manly values" imparted at British public schools.  Kings College, Cambridge - studied history, philosophy, and literature.  At Cambridge Forster learned that others shared his homosexual feelings  Formed an intense Platonic bond with another undergraduate, H.O. Meredith, who appears as "Clive" in Maurice.  received his Bachelor in Arts  Cambridge Conversazione Society, also known as the Cambridge Apostales, met lifelong friends; Goldsworthy, Lowes and Dickinson, Virginia Wolff. Many went to form (Bloomsbury Group)

INSPIRATION  inheritance from great aunt Marianne Thornton.  Visited Italy then Greece with his mother.  This is where Forster first experienced the Mediterranean culture he grew up to love and write about.  In 1915 he volunteered to serve with the Red Cross in Alexandria, Egypt.  There he met the great modern Greek poet Constantine Cavafy, who was also gay and whose work Forster helped to publicize.

 He also encountered a young Egyptian streetcar conductor, Mohammed el Adl, who was his first relationship.  Forster returned to India, serving as private secretary to the Maharajah of Dewas State Senior.  In 1946, forced to leave his home at Abinger, he accepted an offer to become an honorary fellow at King's College Cambridge, where he lived in tranquility for the rest of his life

WRITINGS  First of many sketches, essays, and stories were printed in the Independent Review in  Contributed to the London literary journal The Athenaeum.  Forster's themes reflect the shift in morals and viewpoints from the Victorian era to the 20th century  Novels Angels Fear to Tread (1905)-set in Tuscany The Longest Journey (1907) A Room With a View (1908)-romance set in Italy, contrasted with Edwardian England’s society and mores. Howards End (1910)-story that centered on an English country house and dealt with the clash between two families, one interested in art and literature, the other only in business. Maurice (started in 1912, published after death in 1971) Forster specifically requested the novel be published only after his death due to its overt homosexual theme. Published no novels after A Passage to India, even though he lived to 91.

 The novel examines the British colonial occupation of India, but rather than developing a political focus, explores the friendship between an Indian doctor and British schoolmaster during a trial against the doctor, based on a false charge.  Greatest success, its subject the relationship between East and West, seen through the lens of India in the later days of the British Raj.  Interested in the study of personal human relationships  Reoccurring theme of friendship, of intimate relationships between members of different cultures, or communities, or two ideological groups.  Novel beginning with the question posed by the Indians” whether or not, it is possible to be friendly with the Englishmen”. PASSAGE TO INDIA

WHY FORSTER STOPPED WRITING NOVELS  Continued to write essays, short biographies and literary journalism– but no more novels  “But I think one of the reasons why I stopped writing novels,” he says, “is that the social aspect of the world changed so very much. I’d been accustomed to write about the old vanished world with its homes and its family life and its comparative peace. All of that went. And though I can think about it I cannot put it into fiction form.” BBC Interview

SOURCES  Lone, iftikhar Hussain, and Syed Amir Syeed. “Persoanl relations in E.M. Forster’s A passage to India.” Language In India sept. 2012:325+. Literature Resource Center. Web. 11 July 2013  Gay & Lesbian Biography. Ed. Michael J. Tyrkus and Michael Bronski. Detroit: St. James Press, Word Count: From Literature Resource Center.  British Travel Writers, Ed. Barbara Brothers and Julia Marie Gergits. Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol Detroit: Gale Research, Word Count: From Literature Resource Center.