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Loading... Where Angels Fear to Tread (1905)by E. M. Forster
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» 15 more A Novel Cure (74) Books Set in Italy (67) Best Historical Fiction (502) Books Read in 2021 (1,216) Books Read in 2023 (2,154) Books Read in 2014 (1,270) SHOULD Read Books! (270) No current Talk conversations about this book. E. M. Forster's first novel tackles issues of national identity and the potential for interpersonal connection despite societal inequalities that would preoccupy Forster throughout his career. The action is split between England and Italy. Where Angels Fear to Tread culminates in a "song of madness and death" similar to the sad opera Lucia di Lammermoor, which turns raucously amusing in one of the novel's most memorable sequences, yet at times veers into farce. The novel is gruesome, accomplished, and darkly humorous. The best intentions fail and well-known ideas of virtue and vice fall to pieces in it. This kind of tragedy is distinctively Jamesian, and Philip's tale unmistakably invokes The Ambassadors' storyline. Similar to Strether in James' novel, Philip goes to the continent in order to save a fellow countryman from disgrace (first Lilia, then her son), only to fall in love with the place, find himself in the unlikely position of defending it, and have additional "ambassadors" (Harriet and Caroline Abbott) sent in order to save his mission. John Marcher, the main character of Henry James' "The Beast in the Jungle," and, in a way, the model for Strether, have similarities with Philip in his disengagement from life and inability to make snap decisions. However, Philip's tragedy is more difficult to accept because of his conviction that nothing can save him, which is actually the reverse of Strether's. The action of this novel somewhat presages aspects of Forster's third novel, A Room With A View. As first novels go, this one is one of the best with a literary touch that Forster would continue to develop in his more famous later novels. I just completed reading Where Angels Fear to Tread by E. M. Forster and unfortunately, I really didn’t like the plot or the characters, finding it an altogether depressing read. It is often called a “comedy of manners”, but I found nothing amusing about the book. From the very upright and staid British characters to the handsome but uncultured and rather stereotypic Italian, Gino, there wasn’t a sympathetic character among them. For me, Where Angels Fear to Tread was a sad story of unfulfilled passions and life unlived. This was Forster’s first novel, written when he was 26, and I felt that it was uneven and at times rather cruel. Of course there were glimmers of his writing genuis but in this early work, he still had quite some way to go. no reviews | add a review
Belongs to Publisher SeriesIs contained inHowards End / The Longest Journey / A Room with a View / Where Angels Fear to Tread by E. M. Forster Howards End / The Longest Journey / The Machine Stops / A Room With A View / Where Angels Fear to Tread by E. M. Forster Where Angels Fear to Tread / The Longest Journey / A Room With a View / Howards End / A Passage to India by E. M. Forster Has the adaptation
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HTML: Where Angels Fear to Tread (1905) follows two women to Italy: the widowed Lilia Herriton and her traveling companion Caroline Abbott. Lilia falls passionately in love with the country, and also with a young Italian man. Her decision to remain in Italy enrages her dead husband's family, who send her brother-in-law to fetch her back. .No library descriptions found. |
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![]() GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)823.912Literature English English fiction Modern Period 1901-1999 1901-1945LC ClassificationRatingAverage:![]()
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Glad I read it (but not a keeper). I've still a couple of other Forster's to get to. [Howard's End] read several times is my favourite. (