E.M. Forster

by Lionel Trilling

“The modern novel in its most cogent and permanent form”––this has been the achievement of E. M. Forster; his masterpiece,  A Passage to India , belongs with perhaps three or four other works in English at the pinnacle of literary craftsmanship in this century. Yet for many years Forster’s genius was virtually unrecognized in America. Not until 1943, when Lionel Trilling’s authoritative and discerning study was first published, did Forster find his way to a broad American audience. In this 1964 revision of the first paperbook edition, Mr. Trilling added a preface and brought the bibliography up to date. His book performs two it is a critical-biographical introduction to the master novelist and his works; it is in itself a primary document in the development of, contemporary American criticism. Here is criticism functioning at its best, deftly, surely, wittily, within a framework of the ideas which are basic to literary thought today.

Genres: Essays, Nonfiction, Literary Criticism, Criticism

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1943

About the author

Lionel Mordecai Trilling was an American literary critic, short story writer, essayist, and teacher. He was one of the leading U.S. critics of the 20th century who analyzed the contemporary cultural, social, and political implications of literature. With his wife Diana Trilling (née Rubin), whom he married in 1929, he was a member of the New York Intellectuals and contributor to the Partisan Review.

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book would be best appreciated by someone who has read all of Forster's novels and/or someone who is a student of literary criticism and understands all of its terms and schools of thought. I am neither. I'm a fan of A Room with a View and of Maurice, and have heard of but not read the other novels, nor any of the short stories or criticism. I'm familiar with Trilling from the New Yorker. Put together this book intrigued me. This extended criticism isn't difficult to read, but I found it a bit difficult to keep focus through certain passages. The I knew the words but the sentences didn't always make complete sense and I had to conclude that a word was being used in an unfamiliar way or context of the time was needed to make it clearer. One piece that Trilling seemed to be missing was that Forster was gay. But because Trilling picks up well on themes of identity and alienation (English vs Indian in A Passage to India, for example; classism in Howard's End), it isn't clear that the addition would have changed his perspective on Forster's work. In all, I'm likely to read more of Forster having read this book, so I found it a worthwhile time and effort spent on this book.

[George · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don’t know how I feel about Trilling yet and this book is really stuffed with long excerpts and plot summary of Forster’s novels, which is not particularly helpful, but now and then there are great comments and clear-headed illuminations of trends and passions linking the texts into a body of work. The summary of Forster’s critical writing at the end is actually helpful and the standalone first chapter is a great, almost historicising location of Forster in a liberal and realist tradition.

[Mckenzee Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A literary criticism more than the biography I was expecting, Trilling's analysis of most of Forster's work (the author's final novel, Maurice, was not published at this point) is excellent. Trilling is not an uncritical fan of Forster, but he also clearly respects the author and his body of work. It helps to have a good working knowledge of Forster's writings, particularly his novels, but I would think Trilling's book is still enjoyable if you don't have this background. Recommended.

[J. Alfred · Rating 3 out of 5]

This guy Forster: pretty good. This guy Trilling: pretty good.
Trilling on Forster: unsurprisingly, pretty good. Especially if you've read some Forster, know something good is going on, and need some help realizing what it is.

It's also quite good if you want occasional self-knowledge like this: "But we of the liberal connection have always liked to play the old intellectual game of antagonistic principles. It is an attractive game because it gives us the sensation of thinking, and its first rule is that if one of two opposed principles is wrong, the other is necessarily right." That is, we have decided that the enemy of my enemy is always my friend, when quite often he is, politically, worse, if possible. Oops.

[Eden · Rating 3 out of 5]

Useful, clear, and often insightful, but also occasionally sexist and sometimes inclined to oversimplification.

[Max · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant model of literary biography.

[Cory · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lionel Trilling is pretty brilliant. Though I don't approach texts with that limited "New Critical" lens, Trilling demonstrates its value for focus and pure analysis of text. He makes great use of "Howards End" and makes really stunning points that are original and, though I could never think of them on my own, pretty evident insights on the text.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting take on Forster from one of his contemporaries, pre-publication of Maurice. Contains insights into Forster's liberalism, among other things.