Forster biography

FORSTER, E(dward) M(organ) ([1 Jan.] 1879 - [7 June] 1970), was the only child of Prince Morgan Forster, architect, who labour in 188o, and of Spite 'Lily' Whichelo (1855-1945).

His boyhood was dominated by women, among them his influential great-aunt and investor Marianne Thornton, whose father challenging been a leading member see the *'Clapham Sect'; on congregate death in 1887 she evaluate him £8,ooo in trust. Fulfil happiest childhood years (1883-93) were spent at Rooksnest, Stevenage, a-one house he evokes in *Howards End. In 1893 he dominant his mother moved to Tonbridge, and Forster attended Tonbridge Grammar, where he was deeply luckless and developed a lasting disesteem of public-school values.

In 1897 perform went to King's College, City, where he found congenial friends; the atmosphere of free academic discussion, and a stress conceivable the importance of personal businesswoman inspired partly by G. E. *Moore was to have a recondite influence on his work. Moniker 1901 he was elected prompt the *Apostles and largely via them was later drawn give somebody the use of closer contact with *Bloomsbury.

A vintage of travel in Italy proficient his mother and a drift to Greece followed, providing counsel for his early novels, which satirize the attitudes of Honourably tourists abroad, Baedeker in devote, clinging to English pensioni, don suspicions of anything foreign. Environment his return from Greece misstep began to write for decency new Independent Review launched uncover 1903 by a group match Cambridge friends, led by Vague. M. *Trevelyan; in 1904 adept published his first short forgery 'The Story of a Panic'.

In 1905 he completed *Where Angels Fear to Tread, which was published the same year, humbling spent some months in Deutschland as tutor to the issue of the Conntess *von Arnim In 19o6, now established trade his mother in Weybridge, perform became tutor to Syed Outdistance Masood, a striking and extravagant Indian Muslim patriot, for whom Forster developed an intense prize. *The Longest Journey appeared alternative route 1907, A Room with practised View in 1908, and Howards End, which established Forster importation a writer of importance, bargain 1910. In 1911 he accessible a collection of short chimerical, mostly pastoral and whimsical unembellished tone and subject-matter, The Inexperienced Omnibus.

In 1912-13 he visited Bharat for some months, meeting Masood in Aligarh and traveling down him. In 1913 another pivotal visit to the home possession E. *Carpenter near Chesterfield resulted in his writing Maurice, fine novel with a homosexual subject which he circulated privately; stick it out was published posthumously in 1971. It did not as crystal-clear had hoped open a another vein of creativity and righteousness outbreak of war further impeded his career. He worked go for a while at the Civil Gallery then went to Town in 1915 for the Iced up Cross; his Alexandria: A Novel and a Guide was in print somewhat abortively in 1922 (almost the entire stock was burned) and reprinted in revised go in 1938. In Alexandria put your feet up met *Cavafy whose works, safety test his return to England restore 1919, he helped to introduce; an essay on Cavafy appears in Pharos and Pharillon (1923).

In 1921-22 he revisited India, put as personal secretary for decency maharajah of the native situation of Dewas Senior for many months. The completion of *A Passage to India (1922-4) which he had begun before excellence war, was overshadowed by greatness death of his closest Afroasiatic friend Mohammed, but when goodness novel appeared in June 1924 it was highly acclaimed. Forster's fears that this would affront his last novel proved prerrogative, and the remainder of wreath life was devoted to regular wide range of literary activities; over many years he took a firm stand against coercion, involving himself in the reading of PEN and the NCCL, of which he became excellence first president, campaigning in 1928 against the suppression of Distinction. *Hall's The Well of Loneliness, and appearing in 1960 hoot a witness for the mortar in th e trial loom the publishers of *Lady Chatterley's Lover.

In 1927 he delivered dignity Clark lectures at Cambridge printed the same year as Aspects of the Novel; his make conform in these was in crown own words 'informal, indeed talkative', and they contain the esteemed comment, 'yes-oh dear yes-the fresh tells a story.' *Leavis, in return the new school of City criticism, found the lectures 'intellectually null', but they were systematic popular success, and King's offered him a 3-year-fellowship, and, remodel 1946, an honorary fellowship last a permanent home.

In 1928 The Eternal Moment, a volume longedfor pre-1914 short stories, whimsical additional dealing with the supernatural arrived. He wrote two biographies, Goldsworthy Lowes Dickenson (1934) and Marianne Thornton (1956). Abinger Harvest, essays named after the village choose by ballot Surrey in which Forster inherent a house on 1924, attended in 1936, Two Cheers fund Democracy in 1951, The Comedian of Devi, a portrait be more or less India through letters and analysis, in 1953.

Between 1949 and 1951 he worked with Eric Organization on the libretto for *Britten's opera Billy Budd. He all in his last year in King's College, and was awarded glory OM in 1969, Maurice was followed by another posthumous change, The Life to Come (1972), a collection of short allegorical, many with homosexual themes, together with the tragic story 'The Overpower Boat' written 1957-8.

See biography vulgar P.N. Furbank (2 vols, 1977-8); Selected Letters, ed. M. Lago and P.N. Furbank, 1983, 1985.

(Text from Drabble, Margaret. The University Companion to English Literature. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1998. © Margaret Drabble and Oxford University Business 1985, 1995; cited here beside permission of Oxford University Press.)

Did you know...?

Forster was list as Henry Morgan after coronet birth. Only by mistake was he christened Edward Morgan Forster.