Forster's first novel is a sharp comedy with a darker edge. Lilia Herriton, a young English widow, travels to Italy and shocks her respectable family by becoming involved with a local man. Her in-laws send relatives to set matters right, but their efforts reveal how narrow and self-regarding English propriety can be. The novel contrasts the stiff manners of a small English town with the warmth and unpredictability of Italy, and introduces themes of cultural misunderstanding that Forster developed throughout his career.
Quotes
Romance only dies with life. No pair of pincers will ever pull it out of us. But there is a spurious sentiment which cannot resist the unexpected and the incongruous and the grotesque. A touch will loosen it, and the sooner it goes from us the better.