Written in , the novel offers an extraordinarily insightful look at the life of England in the years preceding World War I. Preoccupied with the vast social changes sweeping his nation, which was then at the height of its Imperial world influence, Forster set out to address the question critic Lionel Trilling expressed as, "Who shall inherit England? To answer the question, he explores the lives of three different groups of people, each of which represents a particular social class or class aspect: the literary, cultural Schlegel family, who represent the idealistic and intellectual aspect of the upper classes; the materialistic, pragmatic Wilcox family, who represent the "solid" English work ethic and conventional social morality; and the impoverished Bast family, headed by a lower-middle-class insurance clerk who desperately hopes books will save him from social and economic desolation.
Forster explores these three groups by setting them against one another in relief, gradually intertwining their stories until they are inextricably linked. In the end, Mrs. Wilcox's estate of Howards End--a former farm now within distant sight of the outskirts of London--comes to represent England as a whole, and the question of "Who shall inherit England? At the end of the novel, Margaret, Helen, Helen and Leonard's son, and Henry all live at Howards End; Henry makes provision for Margaret to inherit the house, suggesting that, like the characters of the novel, the classes of England are mixing beyond recognition, and will be forced to adapt to an England that they can all share.
Item Price. Seller Phillip J. Seller J. Seller Books4Cause Inc. He gets upset, and an unpleasant argument follows. Leonard turns to leave, and Helen goes after him to smooth things out. Left alone, Henry warns Margaret not to try and cross social boundaries. In his opinion, all lower-class people are the same type, and one should be wary of them. Three days after the meeting with Leonard, Margaret receives an invite to tea from Evie and Henry.
They talk about houses and moving, and Margaret asks Henry for help in finding a new home for her, Helen and Tibby. Henry and Margaret meet a few more times during the week. Margaret travels to London to meet Henry and to have a look at the house.
He admits that he has invited her under false pretense: He has fallen in love with her and wanted an opportunity to propose to her.
Margaret asks for a bit of time to think about it, but she realizes that she is in love with him, too. Charles is worried about his inheritance and feels confirmed in his suspicion that the Schlegel sisters are just trying to get their hands on Howards End. Henry now claims that it is stable and in excellent condition.
Helen knows that Leonard has indeed quit his job there and is now working for another company — earning a much lower income. They argue, and the rift between the two sisters widens. Henry decides to take Margaret to Hilton to show her Howards End. When they arrive, Henry goes to pick up the keys first. Left alone in front of the house, Margaret finds the door open, and she enters.
Miss Avery , an elderly neighbor who has taken it upon herself to look after the house, meets her inside. Uninvited, Helen appears in the evening, with Leonard and Jacky in tow. Helen has found the Basts half-starved in their apartment; Leonard has lost his position at the bank. She demands that Henry give him a job. Margaret promises to talk to Henry but sends Helen and the Basts to a local hotel for the night.
As Henry and Margaret go into the garden, they come across Jacky, who is still there finishing off the leftover drinks and food.
She recognizes Henry as a former lover. When Margaret confronts him about it, he admits that Jacky was his mistress some ten years ago, while he was still married to Ruth.
Margaret is hurt but decides not to break off her engagement to Henry. The next morning, Helen and the Basts disappear. When Helen finds out, she asks Tibby to go to the house and force them to take the money. But when he arrives there, he finds that the landlord has turned the Basts out after they failed to pay the rent. Helen leaves for Germany without saying goodbye to Margaret.
Margaret and Henry marry and move into his London home. The furniture from Wickham Place goes to Howards End for storage. Margaret leaves for Hilton immediately. When she arrives, she tries to explain to Miss Avery that she and Henry have no intention of ever moving to Howards End, but Miss Avery ignores Margaret and instead takes her on a tour of the house. Margaret finds that their furniture and things fit very well into the house.
Aunt Juley falls seriously ill, and Margaret and Tibby send a telegram to Helen, asking her to come back quickly. Helen returns to England — but sends a letter to Margaret telling her that she only intends to stay for a short time and will only come to see Aunt Juley if the situation is serious.
She also asks Margaret where the furniture is stored so she can go there and pick up a few of her books. Henry suggests sending Helen to Howards End to pick up her books herself. This would offer Margaret the opportunity to catch her sister, and Henry would be waiting around the corner with a car in case they had to take Helen to see a specialist. When Margaret and Henry arrive at the house and see Helen, the reason for her prolonged absence becomes immediately clear: she is pregnant.
Margaret sends Henry away so she can talk with Helen alone. Helen asks Margaret if they can stay together one night at Howards End before she returns to Germany. Margaret feels obliged to ask Henry for his permission — but soon regrets it as their conversation escalates into a major row.
Margaret is astounded by his bigotry. Margaret returns to Howards End, with every intention of ending her marriage with Henry. Margaret has decided to leave Henry and return to Germany with Helen the next day. Helen tells Margaret that she was in love with him for that one evening and that that was it.
In contrast, Leonard is unable to shake off the feeling of guilt that he has been carrying around since his brief affair with Helen. His life has gone from bad to worse. Desperate to make amends, Leonard decides to go see Margaret and confess everything to her. He enters the grounds, and Charles — who has taken on himself the duty of avenging his family — confronts him. He beats Leonard with a blunt sword. Leonard has a heart attack and dies. Margaret tells Henry that she is leaving him.
Henry is distraught. When he also learns that Charles has been sentenced to three years in prison for manslaughter, he has a breakdown and begs Margaret for help. She takes him to Howards End, so he can recuperate there.
Helen decides to stay as well, and slowly Henry, Helen and Margaret start to reconnect. In his testament, Henry bequeaths the house to Margaret, and Margaret finally learns that Ruth had intended her to have it from the start. Forster divided his page novel into 44 chapters, indicated by number, without chapter headings.
He tells the story chronologically apart from a few flashbacks, for example when the Schlegels first meet the Wilcoxes in Germany, and a few passages where he hints at future happenings to build tension. Detailed descriptions of landscapes, places and rooms make up much of the text, contrasting the English countryside with the sprawling bustle of London, and drawing parallels between the characters of houses and the souls of the main characters.
It is always astute, often ironic, but does not hide that it is much closer and in tune with the minds and lifestyle of the Schlegel sisters than with the traditional and narrow-minded worldview of the men of the Wilcox family.
Forster frequently uses interior monologues to allow the characters to unveil their thoughts and feelings — sometimes consciously and at other time unconsciously. For 64 years — from to — Victoria was Queen of England.
It was a time of huge technological and industrial progress, and many saw her reign as a golden era for Britain.
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