Brief Lives: E. M. Forster

A century after his novels first came out, E. M. Forster remains one of the most widely read and best-loved authors of the 20th century. He made his name with novels such as A Room with a View and Howards End, which, with their detailed analyses of English snobbery and racism, established him as an uncompromising critic of hypocrisy. Forced to conceal his sexuality from his readership, Forster also wrote, but never published, a novel of gay love, Maurice. Richard Canning considers the literary development of one of England's most noted writers in this insightful biography.