Life is easy to chronicle, but bewildering to practice, and we welcome “nerves” or any other shibboleth that will cloak our personal desire. It is obvious enough for the reader to conclude, “She loves young Emerson.” A reader in Lucy’s place would not find it obvious. At one point he breaks the fourth wall like this: But Forster’s gently sophisticated understanding voice gradually gathered the characters together as believably experiencing real life events including doubts about what’s really going on. This apparently straightforward coming-of-age and romance story started out for me awkwardly and with a variety of apparently unrelated and uninteresting events in Florence. The story ends in a scene back in Florence with Lucy and George married and presumably happy. Emerson in a church study, who convinces her that his son cares for her in a more sincerely passionate but respectful way.

She then meets by coincidence the older Mr. Lucy, vaguely dissatisfied with wealthy socially connected Cecil’s arrogant chauvinistic treatment of her and disturbed by her feelings for George, breaks off the marriage engagement. Returning to her home in Surrey, Lucy accepts a marriage proposal from Cecil Vyse, and by coincidence discovers that the Emersons have moved into a house nearby. She and Charlotte pack up and leave for Rome. Later, touring above the city, George kisses Lucy which offends her. Lucy gradually warms to the artistic and traditional charms of the town, but witnesses a murder and is rescued as she faints by George Emerson. These two, looked down on by others in the guesthouse, offer to switch their rooms overlooking the river with Lucy and Charlotte who have been given rooms with no view. There they stay in a very English guesthouse full of nothing but English folk, particularly George Emerson and his father. Lucy Honeychurch, young and inexperienced, travels to Florence with her older cousin Charlotte as chaperone. This one got me interested as I was reading Winman’s Still Life which has been called Room With a View lite, and there were lots of loose associations in that later novel with this one, especially the setting which is the city of Florence Italy. I read something else by Forster many many years ago and remember enjoying it but can’t recall the title.

Forster's with a view