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Where Angels Fear to Tread

3.57 of 5 stars 3.57 · rating details · 4,415 ratings · 321 reviews

When a young English widow takes off on the grand tour and along the way marries a penniless Italian, her in-laws are not amused. That the marriage should fail and poor Lilia die tragically are only to be expected. But that Lilia should have had a baby -- and that the baby should be raised as an Italian! -- are matters requiring immediate correction by Philip Herriton, his...more

Paperback, 148 pages

Published June 1st 2004 by Kessinger Publishing (first published 1905)

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Where Angels Fear to Tread by E.M. Forster

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Sep 11, 2008 Scott rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: bloomsbury, edwardian, 1900s

"Fools rush in ..."

I guess I'm a fool. I thought E. M. Forster was easy to read, almost too easy sometimes. Delighted with his nearly faultless prose, I read his thin first novel, Where Angels Fear to Tread (1905), all in one afternoon. Forster tells the story of a young English widow who is seduced by her romantic vision of Italy and Italians and yearns to escape her controlling and snobbish in-laws in England. Her hasty marriage to a member of "Italian nobility" sets her English relations aflu...more "Fools rush in ..."

I guess I'm a fool. I thought E. M. Forster was easy to read, almost too easy sometimes. Delighted with his nearly faultless prose, I read his thin first novel, Where Angels Fear to Tread (1905), all in one afternoon. Forster tells the story of a young English widow who is seduced by her romantic vision of Italy and Italians and yearns to escape her controlling and snobbish in-laws in England. Her hasty marriage to a member of "Italian nobility" sets her English relations aflutter, leading to all sorts of sadness, disappointment, and eventual tragedy.

Line by line, the novel is very well written and a pleasure to read, but the tale's superficial chauvinism, scant humor, and rough ending left me with a nasty case of indigestion. I couldn't believe a book by one of my favorite authors really could be as nauseating as a quick first read made it out to be. So, after dinner, I started slowly reading the book again; and perhaps not surprisingly, with a careful second reading, I found the book to be much more palatable – still prickly in parts – but more palatable.

In the afternoon, all of Forster's obvious foreshadowing was lost on me, and I missed much of his dry, understated wit and self-deprecating irony. The characters seemed sketchy and melodramatic, and the plot seemed to ramble. But with a second reading, I found that I really liked Philip, whose disillusionment with false romance and gradual understanding of love and real humanity are at the heart of the story. Gino, Lilia, and Miss Abbot were each much more deftly drawn than I at first realized (even Mrs. Herriton and Harriet aren't so bad once you get used to them). The humor popped out when I took the time to clearly imagine the scenes I was reading. And what I had mistaken for a loosely organized, muddled first novel, was really very carefully balanced and symmetrical.

So, what did I learn from this book? When it comes to E. M. Forster (and I suspect many other authors, too), it really pays to re-read and to read slowly. Maybe requiring this much attention from the reader is the flaw of a first novel or an overly self-conscious novel ... I've never before felt compelled to immediately re-read any of Forster's other books. But it was a rewarding undertaking, and I suppose that from now on, once I finish a book, I'll re-read the first chapters, which typically are teeming with important and telling details, before I pass judgment on a book.(less)

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Feb 29, 2008 Juliana rated it 5 of 5 stars

My absolute favorite of the E.M. Forster novels I read. This one blew me away. When I turned the last page, I felt like I'd been catapulted out of the novel's world to find myself surprisingly in my own house with my own children around me. It absolutely sucked me in and had me crying and caring and wondering what would happen to each of the characters.

One of my favorite novels of all time.

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Apr 16, 2012 Kristen rated it 3 of 5 stars

My first Forster and a quick, easy, fun read. Oh, those silly English; so pompous and Protestant and detached. Oh, those wacky, ignorant Italians with their papist leanings, their saints and their layabout cafe culture. This is a silly culture clash novel with a male character who does not change (but thinks he does) and a female character who is deep and unknowable and full of well earned condescension toward men. In an odd way it reminds me of Revolutionary Road; or maybe just real life. I enj...more

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May 15, 2008 Laura rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classic, english-lit

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Aug 13, 2007 L.h. rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: literary people

Shelves: bookcrossing, fiction-and-literature

My favorite quotation from the book: "He had known so much about her once -what she thought, how she felt, the reasons for her actions. And now he only knew that he loved her, and all the other knowledge seemed passing from him just as he needed it most."

I like Forster, and his portrayal of small people living in a small world, suddenly expanded by travel and exposure to people living passionately. Not as heartbreaking as some of his other novels, not as emotionally gripping as some other author...more

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Apr 12, 2012 Philip Jackson rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Although this was the first of Forster's novels to be published, he was already well underway with 'A Room With A View' before switching to Angels.
Lilia Herriton takes a trip to Italy. Her family by marriage are appalled to learn that she has fallen in love with the son of an Italian dentist, and Philip Herriton is sent immediately to nip the romance in the bud. He arrives too late - Lilia and Gino are already married and expecting their first child.
The novel takes a much darker turn when Lili...more

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Mar 30, 2012 Arukiyomi rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 1001-books

Haven’t read Forster for a long while and the last time I tried I found him whimsical but wordy, kind of like he was playing straight man to Evelyn Waugh. This was good though. One of his earliest novels and I liked it.

Waugh-like, this is a parody of the English class-system which Forster deals more seriously with in later more famous novels. We’re in Italy and we’re in love with everything Italian. That is, until we have to deal with the realities of Italy which the Italians have so rudely fail...more

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Jun 15, 2010 Cori rated it 3 of 5 stars

Although this book is fairly highly acclaimed, I didn’t come anywhere close to loving it, especially like I loved A Room with a View. It was Forster’s first published novel, and I think it shows. The writing and the plot were just not as strong as they are in his other books I’ve read. It was sort of a tragi-comedy, with funny parts and some seriously tragic parts. It all felt a little uneven and not cohesive. I didn’t get swept up in the characters — I kept thinking that they were all selfish,...more

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Jan 20, 2010 Steve rated it 3 of 5 stars

HEADLINE: This novel may have the most pathetic portrayal of a brawl between two men in the history of English literature, a sin that can be forgiven, however, given the unintentional comicality of it.

This is E. M. Forster's first novel. It shows. It is a short novel, one that would be classified as a novella if anyone truly knew exactly what constitutes a novella. It could be classified as a melodrama were it not for the development of the characters, particularly Philip. It is in the developme...more

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Apr 27, 2009 Tony rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction-mainstream

Forster, E(dward) M(organ). WHERE ANGELS FEAR TO TREAD. (1920). ****. This is the author’s first book out of the box, and displays many of the themes that he takes up in several of his later novels, especially “A Room With a View,” and “A Passage to India.” In this novel, he tells of a young widow, Lilia, who lives with her in-laws on their estate outside of London. She has a daughter, but has still not gotten over the death of her husband. The family recommends that she take the grand tour, wit...more Forster, E(dward) M(organ). WHERE ANGELS FEAR TO TREAD. (1920). ****. This is the author’s first book out of the box, and displays many of the themes that he takes up in several of his later novels, especially “A Room With a View,” and “A Passage to India.” In this novel, he tells of a young widow, Lilia, who lives with her in-laws on their estate outside of London. She has a daughter, but has still not gotten over the death of her husband. The family recommends that she take the grand tour, with particular emphasis on areas of Italy, where her brother-in-law, Philip, has been before and is ecstatic over. She would go for a year, and be accompanied by Miss Caroline Abbott, a friend of the family and of Lilia. Miss Abbott, although younger than Lilia, is a level-headed young woman who knows herself and much of the world around her. When the two travelers reach a small town in Italy that Philip had particularly recommended, tyhey write back about its charm and the friendliness of the people. In the next letter, Lilia tells them that she has gotten married to one of the local “nobles.” The in-laws are incensed. Philip is immediately dispatched to see what’s going on. He finds that Lilia’s husband, Gino, is not a noble, but the son of the local dentist – a low rank on the totem pole of caste consciousness. Philip wants to have the marriage annuled since he knows it will not work; English Lilia and Italian Gino have nothing in common. They don’t even know each others’ language. Philip finds that it is too late – Lilia is pregnant. She later dies during the delivery, but a healthy son is the issue. the folks back home are now faced with another problem – the boy will be raised as an Italian! Forster thoroughly explores the themes of cultural collision and the sterility of the English middle-class in this novel. Again, we will see these themes again. The book is extremely well written and the reader is caught up in the struggle. There is also quite a bit of malevolent humor in the book that Forster seemed to lose as he wrote his later books. Recommended.(less)

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Sep 02, 2010 Briynne rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was a very charming, entertainingly melodramatic little book. It was an incredibly fast read, and it leaves me with only The Longest Journey left to tackle in my Forster omnibus. The saving grace for this novel is that it seems quite well-aware that it is being melodramatic, but rather than being ashamed of itself, it sort of invites you along for the ride.

This was officially the first time I've ever had any interest in one of Forster's male characters. The women were predictably interesti...more

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Apr 28, 2010 LaNae rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: classics

This was quite a tragic tale, so I'm not quite certain why I liked it. Perhaps it is because of the artful prose and insight into human nature. There are many compliments about Italy, where much of the book is set, and some jabs about Germans, which I had to chuckle over. I didn't love it like some of Forster's other works, but strangely it did captivate me. (I have to do something during baseball practice!)

Most of the characters in this short book are motivated to act for all the wrong reasons,...more This was quite a tragic tale, so I'm not quite certain why I liked it. Perhaps it is because of the artful prose and insight into human nature. There are many compliments about Italy, where much of the book is set, and some jabs about Germans, which I had to chuckle over. I didn't love it like some of Forster's other works, but strangely it did captivate me. (I have to do something during baseball practice!)

Most of the characters in this short book are motivated to act for all the wrong reasons, which generally results in unhappiness all around. A good many characters are manipulated or driven by a domineering family matriarch (and social snob), Mrs. Herriton. I liked the following quote about her: "To what purpose was her diplomacy, her insincerity, her continued repression of vigour? Did they make anyone better or happier? Did they even bring happiness to herself?" I think the answer to that last question is a no.

The characters acting either against or because of Mrs. Herriton's prodding generally see unsatisfactory results. In fact, it is her desire to maintain her sense of family honor and prestige that puts the whole tragic tale into motion. It is her attempt to keep her widowed daughter-in-law, Lilia, from an unsuitable suitor that ultimately ends in tragedy for so many of the characters.

Her daughter Harriet is driven to desperate action, and perhaps madness as a result. She has allowed herself to be molded and controlled according to the dictates of her mother. Appearances and victory are of utmost importance to them, and they will go to any lengths to get what they want. (I don't want to give too much away about just how far she does go)

We do have hope for her son, Philip, at the end. After tragedy and a near death experience, he finally determines to break away from his mother and create a life of his own. However, it is at this point that the book ends, so it is questionable if he will be successful in this endeavor or not.

This is pretty random, but I liked the following quote regarding fatherhood: "He stood....filled with the desire that his son should be like him, and should have sons like him, to people the earth. It is the strongest desire that can come to a man...stronger even than love or the desire for personal immortality. All men vaunt it, and declare that it is theirs; but the hearts of most are set elsewhere. It is the exception who comprehends that physical and spiritual life may stream out of him forever."

Ironically, this quote references a man (Gino) who is not all that admirable in other areas. He marries Lilia solely for her money, and is not faithful, hardworking or kind. However, sadly in the end, he does have the capacity to love his motherless son. Even that ends in tragedy, as other characters pursue the child for less than pure motives.(less)

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Oct 03, 2011 Monica rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I’ve always wanted to read at least one book written by E.M. Forster and now I have, although I’m not sure why I started with “Where Angels Fear to Tread”, except perhaps it was the first book he wrote and I tend to read authors from the “beginning”.

Book synopsis: “Entails the consequences of the marriage of Lilia Herriton, an impulsive young widow, to the son of an Italian dentist, Gino Carella, whom she meets while touring in Tuscany, ineffectively chaperoned by 'charming, sober' Caroline Abo...more I’ve always wanted to read at least one book written by E.M. Forster and now I have, although I’m not sure why I started with “Where Angels Fear to Tread”, except perhaps it was the first book he wrote and I tend to read authors from the “beginning”.

Book synopsis: “Entails the consequences of the marriage of Lilia Herriton, an impulsive young widow, to the son of an Italian dentist, Gino Carella, whom she meets while touring in Tuscany, ineffectively chaperoned by 'charming, sober' Caroline Abott. Lilia's mother-in-law in suburban Sawston, outraged by news of the engagement, dispatches her young son Philip Herriton, barrister and aesthete, to break off the match, but he arrives too late, for the couple are already married. Lilia dies shortly afterwards in childbirth, and Philip is once more dispatched, this time accompanied by his sister Harriet, to rescue the baby from imagined disaster. They meet Abbot in Monteriano, and both she and Philip find their intentions waver as they fall under the spell of Italy and become aware of Gino's strong feelings for and determination to keep his son.”

I’m not sure what I thought of this book. It was a fast read, extremely well written, and filled with complex characters whose thoughts and feelings sometimes made sense to me and at other times puzzled me. Rightly so since this book is very much a book of the times, of the cultural differences between people of different countries, and of the differences between men and women. And even more so about the differences in social status between people of the same culture. There are many things about some characters that irritated me, such as Harriet’s blind following of her mother’s wishes and taking those wishes so to heart that her entire character seemed built around the rigidity and blight of her mother. Or Phillip, who so longed to break out of the mold he had been cast yet not being able to find the personal discipline to do so. He understood the beauty of another country and appreciated the difference between cultures, and as much as he wanted to apply this personal realization to his life in England he seemed lazily content to agree to allow himself to not expect anything from life, thus not having to face disappointments.

Glad I read this one, it’s good to break away from my mysteries now and then.(less)

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Mar 25, 2009 Eve rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2009

I thoroughly enjoyed it! Forster has an amazing gift for writing about raw emotions. I had to reread certain portions again and again, because I found myself thinking, "I know EXACTLY what he means!" Witty, dark, hopeful, romantic. This book had so many different facets to it.

I am curious to read more about Forster's Italy in A Room with a View. Again and again, we're shown the transformation that individuals undergo in "her" immense beauty.

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Aug 11, 2012 Debra rated it 2 of 5 stars

When widow Lilia Herriton announces her plan to marry the Italian she’s met while vacationing in Monteriano, her family is in an uproar. Afraid she’ll bring shame to the Herriton name, the matriarch orders her son Philip to head for Italy and stop the wedding from happening. But Phillip is too late. From there, things become more tumultuous as only they can among upper-class British families in the nineteenth century.

This story is about values, cultural clashes, and the ramifications of trying t...more

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Apr 04, 2012 Jim Behringer rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I always enjoy books where cross cultural confusion reigns, and this book pits a repressed English family against a joyous, charming, good-looking Italian young man named Gino.

I wonder if E. M. Forster modeled the passive but observant Philip Herriton after himself? There was a surprising amount of personal insight which Philip possessed about how he related to the world around him. Even his troubles with Miss Abbott could reflect some of Forster's struggles.

While the book was entertaining, the...more

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Nov 11, 2011 Eleanor rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics

This book surprised me so much. Having read his other novel set in Italy, Room with a View, I expected another classic love story between a star-crossed pair; but this book went straight off in another direction. Like Room with a View, this novel examined the differences between the English and the Italians. Again, the self-effacing and apologetic Brits are juxtaposed against the free and wild Italians. His use of setting and description really impart a strong feeling of the differences in chara...more

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Jan 08, 2013 Noodles rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: classics

The back cover of this book describes it as a ‘sophisticated comedy’. Must admit, I wouldn’t have guessed it’s meant to be funny if it hadn’t told me! The story is a tragedy all through, on different levels. There are several major tragic events; with a background of the unhappiness caused by people being forced to behave in a certain way because of their social position. I did enjoy it, though. It’s a very sharp observation of Victorian England. If you swap ‘parody’ for ‘observation’ the humour...more The back cover of this book describes it as a ‘sophisticated comedy’. Must admit, I wouldn’t have guessed it’s meant to be funny if it hadn’t told me! The story is a tragedy all through, on different levels. There are several major tragic events; with a background of the unhappiness caused by people being forced to behave in a certain way because of their social position. I did enjoy it, though. It’s a very sharp observation of Victorian England. If you swap ‘parody’ for ‘observation’ the humour of it comes through.
The focus is a family who are completely smothered by the requirements of upholding their status. The matriarch “manages” the family to avoid any unseemly behaviour being noticed by the gossips of their small town. Her widowed daughter in law is sent to Italy to avoid one scandal, which ends in further potential disaster for the family name. Her son, who is sent to fix the problem, has a romantic notion of Italy which battles with his English snobbery. He sees the Italians as wonderful people from a distance, but not if they’re involved with his family! He has seen enough of the world to become dissatisfied with the stuffiness of English society, but still has his rigid high-minded puritan morals, so is trapped between two worlds. The stereotypes of English and Italian behaviour are played off against each other. This must have been the dilemma of many young aristocrats who returned from their Grand Tour, to join society in the role expected of them. Or perhaps they took enough Englishness with them to protect them from foreign influences, so they never had their eyes opened to a different view of the world. It’s similar for modern travellers, going around looking at things as a tourist without becoming involved enough with local people to find out how life really is for them.
This book works very well as a social commentary, much of which is still relevant today, though the circumstances are different now. A number of thought provoking ideas come up from the battle between people’s feelings and the way they are expected to behave. And those feelings can be completely changed by going to a different place, away from the family influence. One clever section talks about parents loving their children more than the children love them. I enjoyed it from this aspect, but as a comedy it was a bit too subtle and old-school for me.
(less)

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Nov 05, 2009 Alexei rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This classical example of modernist novel ages very well. Not only "Where Angels Fear To Tread" is written masterfully and skillfully (with the great sense of humour displayed at times) but the problems raised in this book are really ever-actual (is there such a word?). Maybe one of the major themes is the one of deeply hidden but always persistent kind of existential disenchantment which Philip Herriton feels. He is too intellectual and sophisticated for sharing primitive but grandiose vital po...more

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May 08, 2013 Stoic rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Aesthetes and anglophiles

Shelves: british, romance, humor

I quite liked this.

It's a brief, dynamic, ten-chapter story of a liberating-but-doomed marriage, which turns darkly humorous as it follows one British family's attempts to bring the child produced by that marriage home from Italy. The tension in the (fictional?) settings is between "Sawston," in a dull, static but secure area of England, and "Monteriano," the vibrant but somewhat squalid Italian city. The author works in some truly beautiful and perceptive lines, with more wit than any writerly...more

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Apr 23, 2013 Mara Cee rated it 3 of 5 stars

Going into this, I had no idea that it was E. M. Forster's first published novel. I've greatly enjoyed his works in the past, and so I didn't understand why this book seemed so much slower to get through than his other, longer novels that I've read. One of the things I love most about Forster's writing is how clever and fluid it can be, but I felt that his writing in this book was not as strong as in his later novels.

Comparisons aside, I found this book to be an enjoyable read. The descriptions-...more

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Feb 23, 2012 Andres rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

I didn't know what to expect of this novel when I started it, and I'm still unsure what to think after having finished it.

Forster wrote only six novels, and with the movie versions of four of them patiently waiting on my DVR---coupled with my terrible penchant for wanting to read a book before seeing its adaptation---coupled further with my other terrible penchant for reading an author's body of work in order---well, here I am reading Forster's first novel.

And what a strange novel it is. Years o...more I didn't know what to expect of this novel when I started it, and I'm still unsure what to think after having finished it.

Forster wrote only six novels, and with the movie versions of four of them patiently waiting on my DVR---coupled with my terrible penchant for wanting to read a book before seeing its adaptation---coupled further with my other terrible penchant for reading an author's body of work in order---well, here I am reading Forster's first novel.

And what a strange novel it is. Years of schooling have left me yearning to read 'classics' without being shackled beforehand with the social, literary, or historical pedigree/context/whatever of the book I was about to read. I even left off from reading the back cover synopsis (which in the edition I read gave away a major plot point! What the heck happened with leaving things to be a surprise?) so that I could more cleanly enjoy (or not) the text on its own terms.

So what did I make of this novel? That people are selfish gits. Nobody in this book is likable, everybody is looking out for their own interests, and death comes to those who least deserve it. This is sort of like a drawing room version of a James Cain hard-boiled crime story, except here they are "moral crimes" that offend the sensibilities of the moneyed English.

It was an interesting read, to be sure---I got sucked into the petty dramas of the petty characters, wondering how the determined personalities were going to duke it out and who was going to 'win'---but with the tragic climax and the resolution of absolutely nothing (nobody really learns a lesson, everybody just continues as usual) I can honestly say I don't know what to think. If the book is a scathing indictment of society at the time---well done! If it isn't, then... then I have no idea.

The characters can be interesting and frustrating at the same time---at one moment they transcend their expected roles in society, and in the next they are completely captive to it. The duality generates good tension but gets tiring after a while because I was never quite sure whether they were supposed to be fully fleshed characters of their own or only personified stereotypes.

So would I say, Give this book a go? I would say Yes! Maybe.

(less)

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Jan 05, 2012 Nicole rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: pure-win, hard-to-beat-the-classics

I'm all a-flutter with big angst-fluff hearts for this book. There is some bizarre charm for me in the unrelenting pretentiousness of these characters, the horrible overriding need to keep up some very specific set of appearances for the sake of...society? themselves? some guy in Italy they can't stand and hope never to see again? I end up, surprisingly, feeling quite a bit for Philip, and somewhat for Caroline, and some for Lilia (although not as much as I thought I would when she was being all...more I'm all a-flutter with big angst-fluff hearts for this book. There is some bizarre charm for me in the unrelenting pretentiousness of these characters, the horrible overriding need to keep up some very specific set of appearances for the sake of...society? themselves? some guy in Italy they can't stand and hope never to see again? I end up, surprisingly, feeling quite a bit for Philip, and somewhat for Caroline, and some for Lilia (although not as much as I thought I would when she was being all shocking and vulgar in her excited goodbyes in that opening train scene). Oh, and Gino! He's maybe who I end up feeling for the most. Tough call.

As a general rule, these characters are self-centered, misguided, busybody assholes who occasionally have genuinely good intentions or real feelings despite themselves. And they're predominantly English, which in this case adds a level of self-assuredness to their words and actions that borders on the farcical at times. They spend (and by "they" I really mean "Philip and Caroline") most of the book walking around in a fog of "should" and "ought" and "reputation" and either jockeying against or being manipulated by the dread matriach Mrs. Herriton, and when they finally get a little of that fog blasted away...well, the result is lovely, unexpected, and somewhat tragic for both of them because, ultimately, the magic of Italy is temporary in their lives. The drip and drudge of Sawston is ultimately what they have to look forward to when we leave them at the end of the book. From the sounds of it, the place would make most of us a little self-centered and asshole-y.

On the flip side, and I'm really just now realizing what perfect juxtaposition these were placed in, we have Monteriano. It's a magical place, bright and sunny with cheerful people and none of the forced stuffiness our travelers are accustomed to. Its siren song is hard to resist, a truth lost only on Harriet. We even get a sense for this otherworldliness when we first see the town:

"The hazy green of the olives rose up to its walls, and it seemed to float in isolation between trees and sky, like some fantastic ship city of a dream. Its color was brown, and it revealed not a single house—nothing but the narrow circle of the walls, and behind them seventeen towers—all that was left of the fifty-two that had filled the city in her prime. Some were only stumps, some were inclining stiffly to their fall, some were still erect, piercing like masts into the blue. It was impossible to praise it as beautiful, but it was also impossible to damn it as quaint."

Even the carriage ride from the nearest train station to Monteriano is idyllic:

"The trees of the wood were small and leafless, but noticeable for this—that their stems stood in violets as rocks stand in the summer sea. There are such violets in England, but not so many. Nor are there so many in art, for no painter has the courage. The cart-ruts were channels, the hollows lagoons; even the dry white margin of the road was splashed, like a causeway soon to be submerged under the advancing tide of spring. Philip paid no attention at the time; he was thinking what to say next. But his eyes had registered the beauty, and next March he did not forget that the road to Monteriano must traverse innumerable flowers."

Sounds dreamy, right? Lush and mysterious and beautiful and ancient and maybe a little creepily virile with all the erect, piercing tower talk, but this over-the-top virility is a part of its charm as well. It is, as Mrs. Herriton would say with a lot more disdain than I can muster, vulgar. It has no place in the awfully refined lives of these English travelers (which maybe speaks to why Lilia didn't transplant well long-term), and they respond to the culture shock in a variety of ways. Mix these varied responses with some local personalities and the conflicts and personal revelations that ensue make the book hard to put down.

This wasn't even remotely what I was going to talk about when I sat down to write this review. I think I was going to say something about the series of tragedies twined up in it, all of which may be rooted in unrealistic expectations. I was definitely going to talk about the prose. What can I say? I got distracted. Here's some lovely prose to leave you with anyway. Fortunately, it can speak for itself.

"Mrs. Herriton did not believe in romance, nor in transfiguration, nor in parallels from history, nor in anything else that may disturb domestic life."

"Philip gave a cry of personal disgust and pain. He shuddered all over, and edged away from his companion. A dentist! A dentist at Monteriano! A dentist in fairyland! False teeth and laughing-gas and the tilting chair at a place which knew the Etruscan League, and the Pax Romana, and Alaric himself, and the Countess Matilda, and the Middle Ages, all fighting and holiness, and the Renaissance, all fighting and beauty! He thought of Lilia no longer. He was anxious for himself: he feared that Romance might die."

"So the two men parted with a good deal of genuine affection. For the barrier of language is sometimes a blessed barrier, which only lets pass what is good. Or—to put the thing less cynically—we may be better in new clean words, which have never been tainted by our pettiness or vice. Philip, at all events, lived more graciously in Italian, the very phrases of which entice one to be happy and kind."(less)

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Sep 12, 2010 Jill rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics

As was the case in A Room With A View, this novel also features a life altering trip to Italy. But with a twist.
In A Room With A View, the female protagonist Lucy journeys to Italy, meets someone and has her perspective on life and society irrevocably altered. In Where Angels Fear to Tread, two female protagonists - the young and somewhat foolish English widow Lilia and her acquaintance Miss Abbott - journey to Italy, meet someone, but with very different results. And it is Philip, Lilia's supe...more

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Apr 01, 2008 Eileen rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Anyone interested in the whole "clash of civilizations" notion

There is so much wisdom packed into this short, first novel. Forster's commentary on the misunderstandings and missed opportunities between people of different cultures and religions is still so relevant today. I read this book after seeing the movie and before I set to work on my own remixed version of the whole "stranger in a strange land" experience.

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Apr 02, 2013 Joanne rated it 2 of 5 stars

I've read all of EM Forster's writing but somehow missed this one until now. I wonder if I might have liked it more if I'd read it before some of his other books. As it stands, I found this one less than fabulous. It's a book about mostly silly, self-important people who gain a glimpse of the restrictiveness and alienation of their rational, orderly world when they are exposed to experiences far outside their normal interactions and outside the realm of "proper" behaviour. Their temptation to th...more

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Jul 31, 2008 Carrie rated it 5 of 5 stars

More tragic and profound than A Room With a View. I enjoyed it just as much. Quick, vivid, insightful. Maybe because now I'm a mother and have just had a new baby, the parent-child scenes and relationships were especially poignant for me. The evolving value system of that Post-Victorian age intrigues me. And, I love his writing.

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Mar 30, 2013 C.G. Fewston rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Published in 1905, Where Angels Fear to Tread is a tale of England and Italy, two cultures pulling apart two families. While on holiday in Monteriano, Italy, Lilia Herriton falls in love with the handsome, but very young Italian named Gino. From there they are married and father a son, unleashing an exploration of vice, virtue, and prejudice between the two families. The rather short book, of only 135 pages, is sentenced with beautiful language and the reader is quickly immersed in the story by...more

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Dec 30, 2010 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 1001-bymr, kindle

All four characters go to hot, beautiful Italy where their frigid, English sensibilities melt to reveal, gasp, some real emotion. However, by the end of it, all characters seem the worse off for going to Italy and meeting with one typically Italian man (beautiful, lounging, flattering, spitting etc.) who is also the worse off for knowing them. So what is the message here - to state that the English have a way of ruining good times in foreign lands? - to keep repressed English society on the stra...more

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Mar 06, 2007 Cass rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: those who want to read a classic in three days

Shelves: 1001bookstoreadbeforeidie

Short and sweet...well, not really. Short it may be, but this novel has very little that's sweet about it. Forster writes again about the English high society in a way that makes me never want to be a part of it! But it's certainly worth reading. Good descriptions of Italy and the Italian way of life in that time, as well.

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About E.M. Forster

Edward Morgan Forster, E.M., was an English novelist, short story writer, and essayist. He is known best for his ironic and well-plotted novels examining class difference and hypocrisy in early 20th-century British society. His humanistic impulse toward understanding and sympathy may be aptly summed up in the epigraph to his 1910 novel Howards End: "Only connect".

He had five novels published in hi...more

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“I seem fated to pass through the world without colliding with it or moving it — and I'm sure I can't tell you whether the fate's good or evil. I don't die — I don't fall in love. And if other people die or fall in love they always do it when I'm just not there.” — 39 people liked it

“All a child's life depends on the ideal it has of its parents. Destroy that and everything goes - morals, behavior, everything. Absolute trust in someone else is the essence of education.” — 31 people liked it

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