First published in 1910 Howards End is considered by many to be Forster's greatest novel. Set at the beginning of the twentieth century it follows the fortunes and inter-relations between three family groups of differing backgrounds and outlooks.
At the top of the money tree are the Wilcoxes who represent broadly materialism and an upper-class English archetype. The family has made money in the colonies and also have a property - Howards End - owned by the terminally-ill mother, Ruth Wilcox, who must decide how best to pass on the estate.
A decision that triggers much of the novel's ensuing conflict, scandal and tragedy. . .
Ruth is great friends with the half-german Schlegel sisters; Margaret, our generous-spirited heroine, and the younger Helen - inquisitive, dramatic and egalitarian by nature. Intellectually curious and cultured they marry into the Wilcox clan whilst also being connected to Jacky and Leonard Bast - a couple from the lower-middle classes. But the Bast's already precarious financial situation and livelihood is thrown into even greater jeopardy as their history and relations with their better-off friends comes to light.
Is reconciliation possible? And how?
