"Fools rush in ..."

I guess I'm a fool. I thought E. M. Forster was easy to read, almost too easy sometimes. Delighted with his nearly faultless prose, I read his thin first novel, Where Angels Fear to Tread (1905), all in one afternoon. Forster tells the story of a young English widow who is seduced by her romantic vision of Italy and Italians and yearns to escape her controlling and snobbish in-laws in England. Her hasty marriage to a member of "Italian nobility" sets her English relations aflutter, leading to all sorts of sadness, disappointment, and eventual tragedy.

Line by line, the novel is very well written and a pleasure to read, but the tale's superficial chauvinism, scant humor, and rough ending left me with a nasty case of indigestion. I couldn't believe a book by one of my favorite authors really could be as nauseating as a quick first read made it out to be. So, after dinner, I started slowly reading the book again. Not surprisingly, with a careful second reading, I found the book to be much more palatable – still prickly in parts – but more palatable.

In the afternoon, all of Forster's obvious foreshadowing was lost on me, and I missed much of his dry, understated wit and self-deprecating irony. The characters seemed sketchy and melodramatic, and the plot seemed to ramble. But with a second reading, I found that I really liked Philip, whose disillusionment with false romance and gradual understanding of love and real humanity are at the heart of the story. Gino, Lilia, and Miss Abbot were each much more deftly drawn than I at first realized (even Mrs. Herriton and Harriet aren't so bad once you get used to them). The humor popped out when I took the time to clearly imagine the scenes I was reading. And what I had mistaken for a loosely organized, muddled first novel, was really very carefully balanced and symmetrical.

So, what did I learn from this book? When it comes to E. M. Forster (and I suspect many other authors, too), it really pays to re-read and to read slowly. Maybe requiring this much attention from the reader is the flaw of a first novel or an overly self-conscious novel. I've never before felt compelled to immediately re-read any of Forster's other books. But it was a rewarding undertaking, and I suppose that from now on, once I finish a book, I'll re-read the first chapters, which typically are teeming with important and telling details, before I pass judgment on a book.

I absolutely loved this. E.M. Forster is such a wonderful writer, with such fantastic creation of atmosphere, and just clever subtle characterisation. I love that his plots never go the way you expect them to, that characters never fall in love with the people whom the narrative seems to require them to fall in love with. A really great read - one I would highly recommend.

Widow Lilia Herriton travels from England to Italy for a year-long holiday. Her well-to-do relatives are not all that sad to see her leave and plan to look after her young daughter. Lilia falls in love with Gino, the idler son of a dentist. He is twelve years younger, and they fear he is after her money. Her impetuous decision leads to misfortune, and her relatives must try to make the situation right, more for appearances than genuine concern. Themes include a clash of cultures, gaps in social classs, hypocrisy, reputation, and compassion. Luckily, Lilia’s brother-in-law Philip and her companion Miss Abbott are positively influenced by their time in Italy (trying to “right” the situation), and their horizons are expanded beyond their stuffy and rigid hometown. There is way more going on in this novel than a brief summary can convey, and there is much more action (albeit told in a reserved manner) than many novels published in 1905. The reader will find many “fools rushing in.” It is worth reading as an early work of E.M. Forster.

What if.. I just chronologically read Forster's novels? This felt like a good start with potential for much more to be explored emotionally and intellectually

Another friend mentioned this recently. It reminded me that I had read it and that it’s one of my favourite Forster’s novels. If my memory serves me correctly, we studied it at school, or I sought it out after enjoying another of his books at school. Either way, this is a bit if a catch-up rating/review.

boyfie’s fav book let’s see if i shld drop da fella

I was first introduced to the works of E.M. Forster when I first saw the 1991 movie based on his book, "Where Angels Fear to Tread" (WAFTT) while watch Helena Bonham Carter as Caroline Abbott something thing missing from the story even though I enjoyed the movie. So when I read my first book by Forster, "Room with a View" (made into a movie which I had not seen), I loved the story so much I wanted to read more from him. Room was considered his happy ending book & his other works were deemed to be on the sad side. I knew the story of WAFTT but that did not stop me from enjoying all 10 chapters & if you have not heard of this gem of a book you are in for quite an interesting time. WAFTT was written in 1905, just this tells you that you are in for something different, you will experience Tuscany area of Italy just as the author must have seen or heard about it. He was a traveler & was an conscientious objector during WW 1. He also wrote "Howard's End" another book I would like to read by him. I did not see the 1992 movie. My list is ever growing on Goodreads, and many of the books are films I saw & want to read the story after the fact. The book is always so much more than the movie. Lilia Herriton is convinced that she must take a trip to Italy by her deceased husband's family, especially Philip who has fallen in love with the country a couple years before. All her family is seeing her off to the train including her young daughter & her overbearing mother-in-law. Her traveling companion is Miss Caroline Abbott, a friend from their English hometown of Sawson. Once in Italy Lilia falls for a young Italian named Gino & in England, they are distressed over a letter they received. Interesting fact, Pallone was talked about in this book & it was a profitable ball game in Italy until 1910 with the richest paid athletes of the world at the time. There is so much in human nature in this story with regards to strength & weakness of character. Which directions should you go the right way which seems wrong or the wrong way in your mind that leads to something right. In my mind this is an adult coming to age book where the some young adults grow in person. This story shows the difference in culture & attitudes between England & Italy. I have never been overseas but I would think nowadays the cultures have more in common than they did back then, in century 1900. This is a perfect book to show this & you have a feeling what life was like then & traveling to another country, that is one reasons I love older books. Newer books of their times can go back in time and do an excellent job as Gone With the Wind did for the Civil War Years but reading an older book about the present older times gives you a true perspective of the times when it was published which is priceless. Excerpts---"It is all very sad. But one consolation emerges- life is pleasant in Italy if you are a man.""It was her duty to rescue the baby, to save it from contagion, and she still meant to do her duty. But the comfortable sense of virtue left her. She was in the presence of something greater than right or wrong.""I don't! But I do except you to settle what is right and to follow that. Do you want the child to stop with his father, who loves him badly, or do you want him to come to Sawston, where no one loves him, but where he will be brought up well? There is the question put dispassionately enough even for you. Settle it. Settle which side you'll fight on. But don't talk about 'honourable failure', which means simply not thinking and not acting at all.""For the dead, who seemed to take away so much, really take with them nothing that is ours. The passion that have aroused lives after them, easy to transmute or to transfer, but well-nigh impossible to destroy."

Called a comedy by some reviewers, I don't see that at all. It is tragic all the way round. There are comic aspects, especially at the beginning and I was as ready to laugh as anyone at the shallow, ignorant British tourist Lilia, falling in love with an Italian who is out of her class and social level. The novel is uneven in its mood and I can tell that it is Forster's first. He attains greatness in his later works, but here glimmers appear.

n   “Italy is such a delightful place to live in if you happen to be a man." n

But if you're a woman like headstrong Mrs. Herriton, the warm Italian hills can turn into a cage. Where Angels Fear to Tread is M.E. Forster's debut and a captivating novel on how a rash marriage leads to a clash between posh England and passionate Italy, with tragic consequences.

You can already see the seeds for A Room with a View in here - the former having a better balance of character-development and scenery descriptions - but for a first novel, this story is quite impressive. Forster's critical eye of rich people's pretentiousness already shines through, and although I don't find them sympathetic, I am proud of both Philip and Caroline's growth.

So although it's not nearly his best work, there is humanity to be found and social squabbles to be analyzed. 3 stars, and I look forward to reading more Forster in 2021.

This was my Forster novel. A comedy set mostly in the imaginary Italian town of Monterisno. Lilia the widow of an aristocratic family goes on a trip in 1905 to Italy to improve herself with her companion Caroline. She ends up marrying Gino the son of a dentist to the shock of the family. Italian’s are seen as stereotypically lazy and without proper manners.

Philip the son of the matriarch Of the family is then sent on a mission with his sister Harriet to get a baby. It does not go well. A tragedy and a good twist at the end saves this novel.

My absolute favorite of the E.M. Forster novels I read. This one blew me away. When I turned the last page, I felt like I'd been catapulted out of the novel's world to find myself surprisingly in my own house with my own children around me. It absolutely sucked me in and had me crying and caring and wondering what would happen to each of the characters.

One of my favorite novels of all time.

What a gripping story! A group of young travelers rush across a tightrope held by an immovable old mother in England and an immovable young father in Italy. In the process, the unsuspecting innocents deal with and reveal national prejudice, and together and alone they discover beauty, love, and sorrow. If that sounds enigmatic, forget what I said and read the book. It's like listening to the movements of a symphony.