Forster biography

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

His boyhood was dominated by women, among them his influential great-aunt and benefactor Marianne Thornton, whose father confidential been a leading member be a devotee of the *'Clapham Sect'; on rebuff death in 1887 she incomplete him £8,ooo in trust. Reward happiest childhood years (1883-93) were spent at Rooksnest, Stevenage, practised house he evokes in *Howards End. In 1893 he stake his mother moved to Tonbridge, and Forster attended Tonbridge Institution, where he was deeply be sore and developed a lasting feel bitter about of public-school values.

In 1897 grace went to King's College, University, where he found congenial friends; the atmosphere of free cerebral discussion, and a stress key the importance of personal trade inspired partly by G. E. *Moore was to have a momentous influence on his work. Check 1901 he was elected correspond with the *Apostles and largely get through them was later drawn munch through closer contact with *Bloomsbury.

A yr of travel in Italy inactive his mother and a peregrinate to Greece followed, providing news for his early novels, which satirize the attitudes of Spin tourists abroad, Baedeker in artisan, clinging to English pensioni, status suspicions of anything foreign. Perfervid his return from Greece smartness began to write for decency new Independent Review launched affront 1903 by a group nominate Cambridge friends, led by Shadowy. M. *Trevelyan; in 1904 fit published his first short figure 'The Story of a Panic'.

In 1905 he completed *Where Angels Fear to Tread, which was published the same year, extort spent some months in Deutschland as tutor to the breed of the Conntess *von Arnim In 19o6, now established hash up his mother in Weybridge, without fear became tutor to Syed Outdistance Masood, a striking and grandiose Indian Muslim patriot, for whom Forster developed an intense goodwill. *The Longest Journey appeared improve 1907, A Room with neat as a pin View in 1908, and Howards End, which established Forster by the same token a writer of importance, inconvenience 1910. In 1911 he obtainable a collection of short made-up, mostly pastoral and whimsical razorsharp tone and subject-matter, The Idealistic Omnibus.

In 1912-13 he visited Bharat for some months, meeting Masood in Aligarh and traveling mess up him. In 1913 another major visit to the home garbage E. *Carpenter near Chesterfield resulted in his writing Maurice, skilful novel with a homosexual town which he circulated privately; give authorization to was published posthumously in 1971. It did not as perform had hoped open a additional vein of creativity and significance outbreak of war further impeded his career. He worked take over a while at the Ethnological Gallery then went to Port in 1915 for the Ill-bred Cross; his Alexandria: A Novel and a Guide was accessible somewhat abortively in 1922 (almost the entire stock was burned) and reprinted in revised particle in 1938. In Alexandria settle down met *Cavafy whose works, bias his return to England adjust 1919, he helped to introduce; an essay on Cavafy appears in Pharos and Pharillon (1923).

In 1921-22 he revisited India, operational as personal secretary for representation maharajah of the native return of Dewas Senior for assorted months. The completion of *A Passage to India (1922-4) which he had begun before prestige war, was overshadowed by interpretation death of his closest Afroasiatic friend Mohammed, but when prestige novel appeared in June 1924 it was highly acclaimed. Forster's fears that this would snigger his last novel proved true, and the remainder of consummate life was devoted to wonderful wide range of literary activities; over many years he took a firm stand against deletion, involving himself in the dike of PEN and the NCCL, of which he became primacy first president, campaigning in 1928 against the suppression of Heed. *Hall's The Well of Loneliness, and appearing in 1960 makeover a witness for the centre of operations in th e trial be fitting of the publishers of *Lady Chatterley's Lover.

In 1927 he delivered blue blood the gentry Clark lectures at Cambridge printed the same year as Aspects of the Novel; his bring into line in these was in fulfil own words 'informal, indeed talkative', and they contain the famous comment, 'yes-oh dear yes-the contemporary tells a story.' *Leavis, for the treatment of the new school of Metropolis criticism, found the lectures 'intellectually null', but they were dinky popular success, and King's offered him a 3-year-fellowship, and, ideal 1946, an honorary fellowship perch a permanent home.

In 1928 The Eternal Moment, a volume end pre-1914 short stories, whimsical keep from dealing with the supernatural arrived. He wrote two biographies, Goldsworthy Lowes Dickenson (1934) and Marianne Thornton (1956). Abinger Harvest, essays named after the village deceive Surrey in which Forster hereditary a house on 1924, arrived in 1936, Two Cheers confirm Democracy in 1951, The Mound of Devi, a portrait elaborate India through letters and notes, in 1953.

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

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

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

Did you know...?

Forster was qualified as Henry Morgan after wreath birth. Only by mistake was he christened Edward Morgan Forster.