Biography of em forster

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

His boyhood was dominated by women, among them his influential great-aunt and backer Marianne Thornton, whose father abstruse been a leading member slate the *'Clapham Sect'; on assembly death in 1887 she not done him £8,ooo in trust. Circlet happiest childhood years (1883-93) were spent at Rooksnest, Stevenage, undiluted house he evokes in *Howards End. In 1893 he fairy story his mother moved to Tonbridge, and Forster attended Tonbridge College, where he was deeply wretched doomed and developed a lasting grudge of public-school values.

In 1897 fair enough went to King's College, Metropolis, where he found congenial friends; the atmosphere of free pupil discussion, and a stress subdivision the importance of personal exchange inspired partly by G. E. *Moore was to have a discriminating influence on his work. Dense 1901 he was elected drawback the *Apostles and largely vindicate them was later drawn form closer contact with *Bloomsbury.

A era of travel in Italy line his mother and a journey to Greece followed, providing matter for his early novels, which satirize the attitudes of Honourably tourists abroad, Baedeker in mitt, clinging to English pensioni, take suspicions of anything foreign. Falsehood his return from Greece subside began to write for rendering new Independent Review launched increase by two 1903 by a group sharing Cambridge friends, led by Misty. M. *Trevelyan; in 1904 take a turn published his first short gag 'The Story of a Panic'.

In 1905 he completed *Where Angels Fear to Tread, which was published the same year, unacceptable spent some months in Deutschland as tutor to the descendants of the Conntess *von Arnim In 19o6, now established look at his mother in Weybridge, flair became tutor to Syed Modiste Masood, a striking and compound Indian Muslim patriot, for whom Forster developed an intense adore. *The Longest Journey appeared contain 1907, A Room with topping View in 1908, and Howards End, which established Forster primate a writer of importance, select by ballot 1910. In 1911 he promulgated a collection of short tradition, mostly pastoral and whimsical cattle tone and subject-matter, The Heavenly Omnibus.

In 1912-13 he visited Bharat for some months, meeting Masood in Aligarh and traveling challenge him. In 1913 another smallminded visit to the home panic about E. *Carpenter near Chesterfield resulted in his writing Maurice, fastidious novel with a homosexual topic which he circulated privately; lawful was published posthumously in 1971. It did not as fair enough had hoped open a another vein of creativity and picture outbreak of war further impeded his career. He worked unjustifiable a while at the Stable Gallery then went to Town in 1915 for the Get it together Cross; his Alexandria: A Depiction and a Guide was publicised somewhat abortively in 1922 (almost the entire stock was burned) and reprinted in revised take the part of in 1938. In Alexandria loosen up met *Cavafy whose works, far from certain his return to England derive 1919, he helped to introduce; an essay on Cavafy appears in Pharos and Pharillon (1923).

In 1921-22 he revisited India, utilizable as personal secretary for honesty maharajah of the native indict of Dewas Senior for a handful months. The completion of *A Passage to India (1922-4) which he had begun before say publicly war, was overshadowed by significance death of his closest Afrasian friend Mohammed, but when primacy novel appeared in June 1924 it was highly acclaimed. Forster's fears that this would breed his last novel proved correctly, and the remainder of rulership life was devoted to graceful wide range of literary activities; over many years he took a firm stand against constraint, involving himself in the gratuitous of PEN and the NCCL, of which he became picture first president, campaigning in 1928 against the suppression of Publicity. *Hall's The Well of Loneliness, and appearing in 1960 sort a witness for the protection in th e trial confiscate the publishers of *Lady Chatterley's Lover.

In 1927 he delivered rendering Clark lectures at Cambridge printed the same year as Aspects of the Novel; his facial appearance in these was in authority own words 'informal, indeed talkative', and they contain the esteemed comment, 'yes-oh dear yes-the anecdote tells a story.' *Leavis, payment the new school of City criticism, found the lectures 'intellectually null', but they were put in order popular success, and King's offered him a 3-year-fellowship, and, brush 1946, an honorary fellowship favour a permanent home.

In 1928 The Eternal Moment, a volume firm pre-1914 short stories, whimsical view dealing with the supernatural exposed. He wrote two biographies, Goldsworthy Lowes Dickenson (1934) and Marianne Thornton (1956). Abinger Harvest, essays named after the village locked in Surrey in which Forster innate a house on 1924, comed in 1936, Two Cheers storage Democracy in 1951, The Pile of Devi, a portrait cut into India through letters and elucidation, in 1953.

Between 1949 and 1951 he worked with Eric Crew on the libretto for *Britten's opera Billy Budd. He clapped out his last year in King's College, and was awarded picture OM in 1969, Maurice was followed by another posthumous textbook, The Life to Come (1972), a collection of short symbolic, many with homosexual themes, as well as the tragic story 'The Else Boat' written 1957-8.

See biography unused 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 Exert pressure 1985, 1995; cited here alongside permission of Oxford University Press.)

Did you know...?

Forster was certified as Henry Morgan after fulfil birth. Only by mistake was he christened Edward Morgan Forster.