A Room with a view

Forster's brilliant social comedy is a witty observation of the English middle classes as they holiday abroad in Florence. One of these tourists is Lucy Honeychurch, a young girl whose 'undeveloped heart' is awakened by her experiences in Italy and by her encounter with the unconventional George Emerson. Lucy finds herself torn between un-English passion and stifling Victorian propriety, personified in her pretentious fiance Cecil Vyse and her dismal cousin Charlotte, until she learns to follow the power of her own heart. 'More than any books I know, I can come back to [Forster's]... and still find them fresh, and more than fresh - true.' The Times