E M Forster wrote just six novels, three of which stand as modern classics –A Room with a View, Howards End and A Passage to India.

I think A Room with a View is the most enjoyable of these. It is a social comedy, written with the sharp observation and light touch of Jane Austen. It is a ‘literary’ novel, by which I mean it is about ideas and society; the characters are more important than the narrative; and it interweaves themes, plots and sub-plots. It is in two parts – the first set in Florence, and the second, at home in Sussex.

The Merchant-Ivory film (1985) of the book, faithful to the text, captured the humour and sunniness of the novel, with a star cast including Helena Bonham-Carter, Maggie Smith, Judi Dench and Simon Callow.

A Room with a View is a love story, full of interesting characters – both likeable and unlikeable - whose relationships it explores. Much of the reader’s entertainment comes from the quality of the writing, with its witty, perceptive commentary on manners and class.

It unmasks snobbery: Cecil observes of George, “…the man was ill-bred – he hadn’t put on his coat after tennis – he didn’t do.”

It challenges pretentiousness: when the Rev Eager praises Santa Croce church “how it was built by faith…”, George Emerson interrupts, “Remember nothing of the sort! Built by faith indeed! That simply means the workmen were not paid properly.”

It exposes cynicism: “Of course he despised the world as a whole; every thoughtful man should; it is almost a test of refinement.”

Some of the epigrams remind me of Oscar Wilde, who was writing just 15 years earlier.

As mentioned the book is set in Italy and England. The main characters appear in both settings. Throughout the novel Forster makes contrasts: home and abroad being just one of many. We are presented with examples of what passes for conventional and unconventional behaviour.

We see Lucy, the central character, asserting her independence against the restrictions her mother, her fiancé and society try to impose. What matters and is of value is pitted against what is superficial and unimportant. The book raises questions about how life should be lived, and what love is.

In its range and underlying seriousness; its humour and social commentary; its cast of memorable characters; and in the quality of the writing, A Room with a View is a rich, rewarding and hugely enjoyable novel. One to be read again and again.

Lance Christopher

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