Even when E.M. Forster isn't at his very best (his very best is still Howard's End, at least in the world according to me), his novels are still gems. Where Angels Fear to Tread is more than a bit melodramatic, but the very amusing characters counteract the a sort of ridiculous plot delightfully. Lionel Trilling wrote that "Forster's novels proceed in two ways - by means of complex and detailed plots which produce a long series of small or great shocks, and by means of the author's pronouncements, for the novels are "wise," they never hesitate to formulate and comment." That's definitley true about Where Angels Fear to Tread.