"Howards End is undoubtedly Forster's masterpiece; it develops to their full the themes and attitudes of [his] early books and throws back upon them a new and enhancing light."--Lionel Trilling

A vibrant portrait of Edwardian England, Howards End examines personal relationships and conflicting values. The Schlegel sisters, Margaret and Helen, and their brother Tibby, place their values in civilized living, music, literature, and conversation with their friends. The Wilcoxes, Henry and his children Charles, Paul, and Evie, are concerned with the business side of life and distrust emotions and imagination.

Howards End, a charming country house in Hertfordshire which belonged to Henry Wilcox's first wife, becomes the object of an inheritance dispute between the Wilcox family and Schlegel sisters. Through romantic entanglements, disappearing wills, and sudden tragedy, the conflict over the house emerges as a symbolic struggle for England's very future.