Customer Reviews (1)

Only for Forster Afficionados
There are books published for a very select group of readers and this certainly is one of them. Only people studying the works of E M Forster can reasonably benefit from this volume (if they can afford it...). For the select and lucky few (a bunch of brothers?) this is simply a gem, a chance to see one of Forster's masterpieces in the making.
However, if you are not really one of them (they are quite few, I said) isn't it high time for you to take a look at the final version and get "Howards End"? You won't be disappointed, I promise. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review
E. M. Forster's classic novel about social conflict between theBritish and Indians in colonial India. The story revolves around Dr. Azziz, ayoung, educated Indian who is unjustly accused of attacking a British woman.With the help of an enlightened Britisher, he struggles to defend himselfagainst a system bent on prejudice. Drawing upon his extensive experience inthe country, Forster illustrates that the culture and personal character ofEast Indians is much more complex than the British cared to give credit, andmany of the conflicts of the period arose out of the Englishman's inability,or unwillingness, to see beneath the surface. ... Read more

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Stages of a Passage
The process of writing of "A Passage to India" stretched over a decade. Forster began to write the book immediately after his first trip to India in 1912 but abandoned his work more or less one third into the novel. Years spent in Alexandria did not give him the necessary inspiration to take up writing, it happened only when the writer revisited India in 1922. On his return (nagged mercilessly by Leonard Woolf) Forster rewrote the existing drafts and completed the novel.
This volume makes little sense with its complimentary volume the elusive Abinger Edition of "A Passage to India" - one can hardly read the novel from excerpts, corrections, changes, textual variants. If you put them together it invites you to a marvellous voyage, tracking back the path that lead to the creation of Forster's masterpiece. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Another look at Forster's India
Readers fascinated with A Passage to India should take a look at this volume on the one hand to seek the roots from which Forster's greatest novels have grown, on the other to enjoy once more his witty observations on the subcontinent in the first quarter of the 20th century.
The main body of this book is known to some readers from the 1953 and later editions. This one, however, offers almost twice as much. The added value is EMF's Indian journal and a selection of texts connected with his two Indian visits before and after the Great War, and his later writings on Indian themes. Not all of them are great literature but they offer a new view of Forster's Indian adventures.
A gem of a book for seasoned Forsterians but also quite a valuable gift for anyone interested in literature. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to find so if you chance upon a copy at a decent price, don't wait too long! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Biography of a Teacher and Friend
Goldsworthy Lowes Dickinson was Forster's friend and mentor from the latter's Cambridge days. Their friendship survived for many years afterwards, it was with Dickinson that Forster visited India for the first time, the visit which gave him the initial idea to write "A Passage to India".
After Dickinson's death Forster was entrusted with the preparation for publication his mentor's memoirs. Publication without pruning was impossible in the 1930s as Dickinson described in detail his discreet vice - foot fetish. Forster decided to go from editing to writing a biography of the friend which would be based on Dickinson's writing in as much as it was possible.
75 years after its publication the book is largely forgotten and probably justly so - Dickinson's scholarship and role in the creation of the League of Nations make him a moderately interesting figure only for historians of the period. The book retains some interest as a monument raised to the memory of a good friend by a great writer, E. M. Forster.
P.S. If you cannot stomach the price of the volume, you can move on to less pricey edition (even the early ones are quite cheap) - this is one of the first of Abinger Edition volumes and the additional material is rather limited in size and appeal, possibly with the exception of a preface by W. H. Auden. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (2)

The Machine Stops & Other Stories (E.M.Forster)
This is an excellent book, well ahead of it's time.
It was required reading for us in prep school, and I am now purchasing a copy for my (9 year old) son.

A book that will fascinate you!
Reading Forster's short story"The Machice Stops" made me understand and think a lot about computer use in our everyday life. His writings are like a prediction of what may come if people remain asarrogant and selfish as they already are. The book also made me think aboutthe existance of God and the reason of our creation. I strongly recommendthat you read this book having of course under consideration that it waswritten in 1909. ... Read more

Product Description
Edward Morgan Forster died in 1970 at the age of 91, having achieved a world-wide reputation as an outstanding writer. Though best-known for his novels - Howard's End and A Passage to India are arguably the finest - he was also a brilliant critic and essayist and the author of some remarkable short stories.Forster was born into a mixed family background of bohemia and prim respectability. Indulged, cosseted, dressed up and shown off by his adored mother Lily, it was not surprising that he found public school life painfully harsh. Cambridge began the emancipation - intellectual, artistic, social, and sexual - which Forster's experiences abroad, his growing literary reputation, his deep friendships, and his love affairs were to extend.In his closing years Forster invited Furbank, a close friend, to write his biography. Based on the full range of private diaries, correspondence, and personal reminiscences, this book (first published in 1977) is the authorized and definitive 'life' of Forster. In the words of John Bayley,'it is impossible to overpraise Furbank's style and sympathy as a biographer'; according to Noel Annan,'he has done what Forster asked his biographer to do: he has told the truth'. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Probably Definitive
My comments apply to the 2000 edition, although I suppose the newer edition is practically the same. This may well remain the definitive bio of the indisputably important English writer. Mr. Furbank became acquainted with Forster when the latter was elderly, and it is to some extent an 'authorized' biography. The book (first published in two volumes) is meticulous and thoughtful, though at times a tad dull. Forster had a sheltered youth, and did not engage in any sexual activity besides m*st*rb*t**n until at least age 30, if this book is to be believed, and it probably is. He published his last novel at age 45, but continued writing short stories and nonfiction for many years. He lived with his mother (described by one of his friends as 'mouldy') until her death in her 90s. Nevertheless, he travelled extensively, and his writings on Italy and India are of considerable interest. One hesitates to compare apples and oranges, but I would like to put in a plug here for Edmund White's bio of Jean Genet, which I also read recently (but didn't buy from Amazon) and like very much. Genet, of course, was a wilder thing.

Simply the Best
Thirty years after its first publication this biography of E. M. Forster still hasn't been surpassed and chances are fairly slim that it ever will be. Furbank was apparently the perfect biographer for E.M.F. - he handles his life with an appropriate balance of inquisitiveness and discretion just as the writer lived his life. This attitude maybe now seem close to timidity which it is not, it is us who have been spoiled by the last quarter of a century.
This book is a perfect addition to any E.M.F.'s scholar and fan library but it may be a perfect introduction for someone for whom the name does not ring a bell yet. This is simply a great biography of a great men of letters - and the two greats add to make a great read.

Definitive Resource
Without a doubt, Furbank's work is a great resource for any student of Forster.While working on my thesis , his book was always close at hand.Forster readers will appreciate the attention to detail that helps enliven any reading of one of Forster's novels.

An authority in its field
The must-have biography that almost every researcher of E.M. Forster uses among her/his basic material. Furbank was appointed by E.M. Forster himself as his biographer. The book contains photographs and it covers a lot ofdetail. Although the extensive detail sometimes gives an impression ofdigression it in fact enhances the 'scientific' value of the book, since itprovides information about E.M. Forster for research from many angles(ranging from Bloomsbury Group to liberalism &c &c). Moreover, thedetailed descriptions at times almost read like a novel (for instance thesection on E.M. Forster's travels to Italy). Many letters are included -some by E.M. Forster, some to E.M. Forster, some about E.M. Forster - andmake for an enchanting account. Very informative. ... Read more

Product Description
Alexandria is a city which has haunted and inspired its visitors for over 2,000 years.Here, two of its best-known celebrants provide a view of Alexandria's present through the window of its past.Written during World War I, and later revised, this is Forster's tribute to Alexandria--a combined history of the city and a practicaql guide for the visitor.This annotated edition contains not only the first translation of Constantine Cavafy's famous poem "The God Abandons Antony" but also a specially commissioned introduction by Lawrence Durrell, who recounts his recent return to the city that served as a backdrop for the Alexandria Quartet. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Guidebook as Work of Art
Called the best guidebook ever written, Forster's homage to Alexandria is at once informative, evocative, and nostalgic. The first half of the book is a series of vignettes on various moments and characters in the city's history. Forster immersed himself in the literature of ancient Alexandria and Greece, and it is this intimate acquaintance with the thought of the old city that gives the historical section its depth. Using a style that, though terse, always has time for a story or interesting quote, he covers the ancient library and mouseion, the Alexandrian contributions to science, the Christian and Arab periods. In the celebrated section "The Spiritual City," he outlines the religious heritage of Alexandria, demonstrating how Christianity as we know it today was largely formed in this city. Durrell drew heavily on this section for the gnostic theme that runs through the Quartet. The historical section concludes with a translation of Cavafy's "The God Abandons Antony," the first Cavafy poem to appear in print in English, and Forster considered the primary achievement of his guidebook to be the introduction of Cavafy to the English-speaking world.
Each historical section is linked to sections in the guide, and Forster claimed that "the 'sights' of Alexandria are in themselves not interesting, but they fascinate when we approach them through the past." Forster spent much time on trams in Alexandria, and the great love of his life, Mohammed el Adl, was a tram conductor on the Bacos route. It is fitting, then, that the tramlines should provide the web holding the guidebook together. Forster takes us through the city by tram, pointing out interesting buildings and sites to left and right. The guide also contains maps of the ancient and modern city, and plans of the Greco-Roman Museum and the Wadi Natrun monasteries.
The book had a difficult birth: Forster's Alexandrian publisher suffered a fire in which they thought the books had been burned. After recouping insurance compensation, they discovered that they had in fact survived. They then decided to burn the books deliberately. In 1935, members of the Royal Archaeological Society of Alexandria decided to reprint the book. Forster put some work into revisions, but this second edition did not sell well, and it was only after the book was published in the US that it achieved moderate sales.
More than any other guidebook, Forster's comes across as a labor of love. Lawrence Durrell wrote of the guidebook that Forster "must have been deeply happy, perhaps deeply in love . . . Paradoxically, if that is the word, the book is also saturated with the feeling of loneliness, that of a cultivated man talking to himself, walking by himself."

Considered best guide book ever written; should be reissued.
Recently read and used this book while in Alexandria.There is essential information, beautifully organized, presented and written that should be available.Introduction by Lawrence Durrell is wonderful too. ... Read more

Product Description

E.M. Forster, whose novels A Room with a View, Howards End, and A Passage to India probe the values of the English middle class, is recognized as one of the twentieth century's most distinguished authors. He was also a highly respected literary critic. The Creator as Critic contains more than 40 of Forster's hitherto-unpublished essays, lectures, and memoirs, spanning the period 1898 to 1960. They reflect his views on a wide range of authors: Coleridge, Tolstoy, Pater, Wilde, James, Hardy, Butler, Housman, Kipling, Joyce, Lawrence, Proust, Cavafy, and others.

The Creator as Critic also presents the original texts of some 30 broadcasts made by Forster for the BBC between 1928 and 1959. These radio talks, collected for the first time in this volume, are the thoughtful and thought-provoking products of Forster's active engagement with the literary, political, and social events of his time.

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A study of the motivations behind the work of E. M. Forster. Mr. Shusterman discusses The Longest Journey, Where Angels Fear to Tread, A Room with a View, Howard's End, A Passage to India and the short stories. ... Read more

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A Spiritual Bloomsbury is an exploration of how three English writers_Edward Carpenter, E.M. Forster, and Christopher Isherwood_sought to come to terms with their homosexuality by engagement with Hinduism. ... Read more

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The author's experiences as private secretary to a brilliant young Maharajah. Forster creates a complex portrait of a true ruler. Photographs. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

the experience from which Passage to India was drawn
Forster spent a couple of years working as a secretary for an indigenous royal within the British Raj, a situation quite different from that of most Britishers working out in the Empire at that time and resulting in an experience, outward and inward, quite different from the ferociously enforced norm. Of course the man was quite different from the ferociously enforced norm to start with. This is Forster's account of that experience, and, aside from his own story, it includes a lot of interesting details of the "India" of that time, some of which still hold true (e.g. an innate tendency toward political intrigue, and generally the overwhelming social structure), and some of which are now receding into history (e.g. enormous morning flights of fruit bats returning to their roosts in the jungle, and generally the overwhelming presence of nature).
Anyone who whose enjoyment of "Passage" went beyond plot and characterization will find quite a bit of edification in the cultural information supplied here. Of course, not being a novel, it lacks the full narrative impulse that people enjoy in "Passage", if they enjoyed it.

The book is really helpful to understanding Passage
To be frank,I never have the chance to read the book,yet I ever read lots of essays and thesis telling me that the book is really helpful to astudent intending to have a in-depth search of Passage,so I wish to get thebook for a long time.Although I tried all means, I haven't gotten thebook.That's why I've come to the Amazon. ... Read more

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Eliza Fay’s origins are obscure; she was not beautiful, rich, or outlandishly accomplished. Yet the letters she wrote from her 1779 voyage across the globe captivated E. M. Forster, who arranged for their British publication in 1925. The letters have been delighting readers ever since with their truth-is-stranger-than-fiction twists and turns, their earthy humor, and their depiction of an indomitable woman.

When the intrepid Mrs. Fay departed from Dover more than two hundred years ago, she embarked on a grueling twelve-month journey through much of Europe, up the Nile, over the deserts of Egypt, and finally across the ocean to India. Along the way her party encountered wars, territorial disputes, brigands, and even imprisonment.

Fay was a contemporary of Jane Austen, but her adventures are worthy of a novel by Daniel Defoe. These letters—unfiltered, forthright, and often hilarious—bring the perils and excitements of an earlier age to life. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A bit dry and distant, but an okay read
The basis for Forester's "Passage to India," this late eighteenth century collection of letters shows an India in the ever-tightening grip of colonization and the naively racist mindset behind colonization in general.

The letter's author, Eliza Fay, is a young, newly wed, upper-middle class Englishwoman making and admittedly harrowing passage to India with her husband. The trip begins with a journey through France, then at war with England, followed by a passage through the Egyptian desert and, upon arrival on the Sub-continent, imprisonment by Hyder Ali, "Muslim ruler of Mysore and military commander who played an important part in the wars in southern India in the mid-18th century" (Hyder Ali. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved May 6, 2004, from Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service. ).

Her letters show clearly the eighteenth century English notion of "bringing culture to the savages." Eliza wonders in genuine incomprehension at the thieving servants, failing even to acknowledge the fact that she and her fellow countrymen are occupiers and in place to except kindness from their subjects. She is shocked at Ali's gall to "treat _English_ subjects with such cruelty" (120, emphasis hers). Ironically, describing her maltreatment by an upper-class Englishwoman in India, she provides the perfect summary of her blindness: "Those basking in the lap of prosperity can little appreciate the sufferings or make allowance for the errors of the unfortunate; whom they regard as almost beings of another order" (175).

Yet we can hardly fault Eliza for simply reflecting the middle-class values of her society, and in fact there is much in this young lady to set her apart from her peers. She endures some genuine hardships with a cliché English "stiff upper lip," and has the strength to deal with a less-than-ideal husband in a manner less than conventional in the eighteenth century.

Overall, it's not a book I'd recommend for "light," easy reading. However, if you've read Forester's "Passage to India" or you want a look back at the beginnings of English colonization, then it's not a bad read. ... Read more

Product Description
This practical approach to E.M. Forster's novels shows how coherent criticism evolves from close reading of short extracts. Mike Edwards discusses four of Forster's most commonly-studied works: A Room with a View; Howards End; A Passage to India and The Longest Journey. The major part of the book is devoted to sample analysis', with detailed guidance and suggestions for follow-up work. There is additional material on Forster's life and work and an introduction to critical treatments of his novels. ... Read more