A Room With A View, by E. M. Forster

Love and nineteenth-century English propriety never seem to mix very well. They’re in constant battle, each trying to repress the other, and we all know which one wins out in the end (at least in literature). We’ve read it before—the instant attraction between two people who aren’t supposed to be together, the problem of societal expectations, the confusion of priorities, the excruciating separation in which the characters realize they’d give up society just to be together, and the ultimate “love conquers all” ending. Same old story. But the thing is, it doesn’t get old! (Am I right, girls?) Seems like even if I know where the story is headed, I still always appreciate the journey.

Forster’s A Room With a View is a variation on this theme. The first half is set in Italy, and from there we move with our English characters back to England. Lucy Honeychurch, the heroine of the novel, is in a real muddle when George Emerson kisses her on a gloriously perfect Italian day. (This is a really big deal. Super improper and chastity-endangering in the nineteenth century.) So she’s got a dilemma when she gets back to England and has to decide basically between love and living a life that society expects of her.

We can guess how it turns out, but really it’s a beautiful journey. I didn’t much care for E.M. Forster’s Howard’s End, but I did enjoy this one. It’s a bit slow at the beginning, but picks up towards the second half. It isn’t the most fantastic read out there, but I did enjoy it and it had some loveable characters. It also really dug into the soul of the heroine, which I loved. I’d recommend this read if a) you enjoy Romantic love stories, 2) you enjoy descriptions of Italian and/or English countrysides, or d) you like books with exasperating, gossiping, old English biddies and unorthodox, understanding, fatherly figures.