Howards End

Howards End by E.M. Forster (1910)

"Only connect!" The Schlegel sisters (intellectual, liberal) and the Wilcox family (practical, conservative) are drawn together by a country house called Howards End. Forster's meditation on class, culture, and the soul of England.

Historical Significance:
Published in 1910, Howards End was Forster's most ambitious attempt to bridge the divisions in Edwardian England — between rich and poor, head and heart, culture and commerce. The novel's epigraph, "Only connect the prose and the passion," became one of literature's most quoted injunctions. The Merchant Ivory 1992 film, starring Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson (who won the Oscar), was a critical and commercial triumph. The novel anticipated England's transformation from an imperial power to a modern welfare state, making it one of the most prescient novels of its era.

This public domain classic was originally published in 1910. Free to read and share.