Rating: 
Summary: One of the Best English Modernism Has to Offer
Review: A surprisingly entertaining book. It is simply and elegantly written, and easy to understand and appreciate. There are also more issues than I can begin to discuss simmering beneath the surface. However, one way to read it is a chronicle of the changing culture of England in the early 20th century. It's much more interesting than you heard. I generally don't like recommending books to everyone, but if you are considering this book of your own free will (I assume so since you are reading this review), you will enjoy it.
Rating: 
Summary: A 4-star book but a 2-star paperback edition
Review: As fond as I am of this novel I cannot recommend this particular paperback Vintage edition. In a work so meticulous and richly crafted as _Howards End_, it's more than a little jarring to stumble across typos and spelling errors in the text. A handsome and attractive volume, such as we've all come to expect from Vintage, but those typos are really unforgivable. By all means read the book, but opt for a different edition.
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Summary: A lasting tribute to Edwardian values
Review: Class consciousness, a common topic in British literature, is emphasized clearly in "Howards End," which draws the class distinctions along very bold social, economic, and political lines. Forster is frank in his observations that such a class system has made Britain the imperial force that it is, but it also paves the way for the worst sort of elitism, which inevitably leads to hypocrisy and the creation of double standards.In the novel, the upper class, the symbol of British imperialism, is represented by the Wilcox family, who own a rubber company that operates out of Nigeria; the novel's title is the name of their country manor, one of their several residences. The father, Henry, is a trickle-down theorist who believes the great disparity of wealth between the upper and lower classes is necessary to maintain the strong economy, a sentiment that is echoed by his callous older son Charles. The Wilcoxes have befriended two sisters, Margaret and Helen Schlegel, who, living modestly off their father's inheritance and not having to work, may be considered middle class. They both are highly educated and idealistic with regard to social reform and equalizing the classes; Margaret the older and more serious, Helen the more frivolous. A conflict arises when Ruth Wilcox, Henry's wife, having spent some pleasant hours and developed a special friendship with Margaret in London, informally bequeaths to her Howards End, which results in a subtle moral paradox: This wish is not legally binding, but isn't Henry dishonoring his wife's memory by dismissing it? The point becomes moot when Henry and Margaret, overcoming their differences of opinion, genuinely fall in love with each other and marry. The lower class is represented by a young office clerk named Leonard Bast who attempts to transcend his social status by earnestly reading Ruskin and attending cultural events -- his fateful first encounter with the Schlegel sisters is at a Beethoven concert. Although his intellectual posturing falls flat with the Schegels, they see him as a model of social change and make him their pet project. However, it is his slatternly wife Jacky who establishes the real significance of his presence in the novel, which is to expose a blatant double standard of which Henry Wilcox freely avails himself. Forster is an excellent empathic writer, able to convey with unusual sensitivity his characters' thoughts, feelings, and motives, rivaling Edith Wharton in this skill. He demonstrated this attribute to great effect in "A Room with a View," but I feel "Howards End" is a triumphant improvement over its predecessor. By using the social aspects of "A Room with a View" but eliminating the levity and the feeble attempts at comedy, he managed to construct what very well may be considered the definitive Edwardian novel.
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Summary: One of 20 books I'd choose to take to a deserted isle
Review: Howard's End can be read again and again and again - and the reader comes away with something fresh each time. Like all of Forster's tales, it's concerned with the deep and petty differences in the various classes of English society, as well as economics and education, and how these issues come to affect personal relationships. Set in the early 20th century, Howard's End follows the two Schlegel sisters. Margaret, the elder, rather suddenly finds herself engaged, then married to Mr. Wilcox, a much older widower, a rather superficial and bombastic English gentleman. Meanwhile, her sister, Helen, becomes involved in politics, good works, and the attempted salvation of Leonard Bast, an impoverished clerk and intellectual. The ownership of Howard's End, the country estate of the late Mrs. Wilcox, becomes central to the story; the wrangling this bequest causes is a metaphor for the class struggles that weave like tangled braids throughout the whole of the book. The tragedy chronicled in the book is seen to have resulted from chance encounters, foolish pride, and petty misunderstandings.
A deeply sad and beautiful book.
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Summary: Almost the best English novel ever
Review: Howards End is a literary masterpiece of the "chick-book" genre. The plot moves very slowly, especially in the first half, and is largely subservient to the subtle shifts in relationships between the characters, whose thoughts and feelings are often examined in depth. Without spoiling any surprises, Margaret and Helen Schlegel are two independent young women in pre-war Britain whose lives are thrown into turmoil by a series of seemingly random interactions with the very wealthy and very conservative Wilcox family. After a very brief tryst with one of the Wilcox brothers (during which Mrs. Munt provides some welcome comic relief) the sisters are stunned to find the Wilcoxes moving into their neighborhood. A friendship develops between Margaret and Mrs. Wilcox, which though short, has long-lasting consequences. In the second half of the book, Margaret is faced with the task of reconciling her flighty liberal-minded sister Helen with the very practical down-to-earth conservatism of Henry Wilcox. It's only fair to point out that many men will find this novel melancholy and occasionally downright insipid. The relationship between Margaret and her prospective husband is utterly lacking in warmth or even in humanity, and his decision about the disposition of the house around the middle of the book is so contemptible that one just wants him to go away. Indeed none of the male characters are the least bit admirable, and only the hapless Leonard Bast is even sympathetic. The obsession with a sense of place that is at this novel's core is neither sufficiently enchanting nor adequately believable. And the final resolution has been roundly criticized by feminists who see the once-proud sisters settling into exactly the sort of lives that they hadn't wanted for themselves. It's true that Margaret is able to convince her husband of the importance of the "inner life", but only at the price of his virtual destruction, leaving her, like Helen, caring for a helpless infant. As to Forster's famous aphorism "only connect", the only characters who really unite on a spiritual level are Margaret and a woman who dies fairly early on in the story. But for most women, this is one of the finest books in the literary canon. Forster's language is superb, and his insight into the female mind is impressive, but what really sets this novel apart is its excursions into the philosophical concerns of modern society. What responsibilities do the rich have to the poor, and how should these responsibilities best be discharged? How do personal relationships fit into the context of a social order that needs leaders, builders, and entrepreneurs? Is the unexamined life really not worth living, or does self-analysis too often result in dilettantism and paralysis? Forster not only raises these questions, but debates them at some length, making this book a perfect choice for an English class or a book discussion group. Guys, feel free to skip this one, although you can always give it to your mother. She'll love it.
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Summary: A Question of Class
Review: Howards End is a realistic picture of Edwardian England, blemishes and all. Forster successfully depicted the environment of his society few authors could. Forster raises moral questions about what the upper class' social and economic responsibilities are to the lower classes. The method of showing opposing viewpoints (help the less fortunate vs. leave them be) between the Schlegel and the Wilcox families works well. He also questions the double standard at that time in England for infidelity. The upper class males were faultless in affairs, while the lower class females were scarred negatively for life. For the males, the affair was the satisfaction of desires and meant parting of some money. For females, the affairs were a way of life, nothing more, and they couldn't even improve their station in society. They were marked as prostitutes, while Mr. Wilcox actually suffered no real personal damage, other than a deservedly begrudging wife for the short term. I can't help but ask how much has society really changed? The book is still relevant today, not only that, it's a good read. The dialogue is even realistic and touching. Forster's prose flows smoothly, and the reader immediately starts to appreciate it after a few pages. Human nature, snobbery, the struggle of the classes, and family affairs really haven't changed that much since 1910. Forster clearly didn't know what to do about these problems anymore than we do today. Asking his country to face their problems, rather than ignore them, which was what was being done, was a start.
Rating:
Summary: A Classic Book
Review: Howards End is a wonderfully written book. I enjoyed it thoroughly. It is a very compelling novel that deals with the conflicts between the wealthy upper class and the less affluent working class of England. The novel is set in the close of the Edwardian Era of England, a time in which these conflicts were flourishing. The Schlegel sisters represent the cultured and sophisticated side of the upper class of England, while the Wilcox family represents the more materialistic and stuffy side of England's upper class. The conflict between these families, which governs most of the book, arises from the dilemma of which family will obtain ownership of Howards End, the estate, after Mrs. Wilcox passes away. The two families are joined by the marriage of Margaret Schlegel and Henry Wilcox. The ownership of Howards End is awarded to the same person for whom it was destined in the beginning of the novel. E.M. Forster crafted a masterpiece in Howards End, and it is a classic that will last throughout time.
Rating:
Summary: A Classic Book
Review: Howards End is a wonderfully written book. I enjoyed it thoroughly. It is a very compelling novel that deals with the conflicts between the wealthy upper class and the less affluent working class of England. The novel is set in the close of the Edwardian Era of England, a time in which these conflicts were flourishing. The Schlegel sisters represent the cultured and sophisticated side of the upper class of England, while the Wilcox family represents the more materialistic and stuffy side of England's upper class. The conflict between these families, which governs most of the book, arises from the dilemma of which family will obtain ownership of Howards End, the estate, after Mrs. Wilcox passes away. The two families are joined by the marriage of Margaret Schlegel and Henry Wilcox. The ownership of Howards End is awarded to the same person for whom it was destined in the beginning of the novel. E.M. Forster crafted a masterpiece in Howards End, and it is a classic that will last throughout time.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Best!
Review: I have read Howard's End two or three times and listened to it once on tape and it remains one of my favorite novels. Many people were introduced to it by the film, which, good though it was, does not begin to capture the subtle wisdom Forster put into this book. Howard's End can be seen as a quaint period piece about British culture in the early Twentieth Century. On another level, however, it's a brilliant exploration of the human soul. In the Schlegels and the Wilcoxes, Forster has created the perfect embodiment of the eternal conflict between reason and passion. These two families, destined to be united by the marriage of Margaret Schlegel to Henry Wilcox, represent two seemingly irreconcilable aspects of humanity. The Schlegels are artistic, intellectual and impractical; the Wilcoxes materialistic and unapologetically bourgeois. Margaret and Henry have their differences, but it is their relatives who display the more extreme family traits. Margaret's sister Helen is a classic bohemian; Henry's son Charles is a humorless and intolerant banker. As the novel unfolds, the two families are forced to confront each other and decide whether to ultimately part company or compromise. What is most impressive to me about the novel is the naturalness and grace with which the story unfolds. When an author uses characters to embody universal qualities, it is quite a challenge to make the people and story real and not merely symbols. Howard's End succeeds brilliantly as both a thoroughly engaging novel and a rather profound metaphysical inquiry.
Rating:
Summary: "Connect the prose and the passion...both will be exalted."
Review: In this 1910 story of Edwardian England, Forster illustrates the conflicts between the superior attitudes of the aristocracy and a developing feeling of obligation toward the "lower" classes which World War I will soon bring into sharp relief. Margaret and Helen Schlegel are intellectual and sensitive to the arts, with compassionate hearts for those less fortunate. When Margaret, at age twenty-nine, is affianced to Henry Wilcox, the much older, widowed husband of a friend, this conflict of attitudes is brought to the fore. Henry, insensitive and believing himself actually entitled to his family's privileges, is cold and reserved, though Margaret believes that "Henry must be forgiven and made better by love."
Helen, her sister, a 21-year-old with an enthusiasm for the life of the imagination, has no sympathy for Henry's staid pronouncements and failure to pay attention to the people "below him" who are dependent upon his whims. When Henry asserts that Porphyria Fire Insurance Co. is on the verge of collapse, Helen and Margaret persuade Leonard Bast, a young clerk they have befriended, to resign his position there, only to have him later "downsized" out of his subsequent bank job. Henry refuses to accept any responsibility whatsoever and refuses his wife's entreaties to give the destitute Leonard a job.
Immensely sympathetic to the economic position of the poor and women, Forster illustrates their financial dependence on those over whom they have little control. Margaret, who secures the reader's total sympathy, must try to educate a close-minded dolt like Henry to be kinder and more empathetic towards the people he considers below him, but she achieves only limited success. When Helen returns from Germany, where she has been living, and Henry and his family discover she is pregnant, Henry's belief that her condition reflects negatively upon himself and his family inspires a disaster with far-reaching consequences.
Filled with incisive observations and great wit, the novel follows the narrative pattern of a melodrama, but Forster's sensitivity to both sides--the practical and conservative values of Henry vs. the emotional and idealistic sides of Margaret and Helen--elevates the novel above the tawdry. Henry is a product of his time and his class, but though times are changing, he is too dense to realize it. With the action centered around the Wilcox home at Howard's End, the reader realizes that the estate is a microcosm of the country and that its conflicts are those of the nation. Thoughtful and entertaining, Howard's End still draws in readers after almost a hundred years. Mary Whipple
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