BOOK 220: A ROOM WITH A VIEW: E. M. FORSTER

A Room with a View is a 1908 novel by English writer E. M. Forster, about a young woman in the restrained culture of Edwardian era England. Set in Italy and England, the story is both a romance and a humorous critique of English society at the beginning of the 20th century. Merchant Ivory produced an award-winning film adaptation in 1985.

The Modern Library ranked A Room with a View 79th on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century (1998).

MY VERDICT: I thoroughly enjoyed this book and read it quickly. I am glad that it is described as humorous because I did find it funny in places, mostly because of the ridiculousness of etiquette and behaviours expected of the times, especially of women. I found the love story to be a little odd and almost like some of the book was missing as there was much that you weren’t there for but in a way the mystery and quick pace of the book made it better.