E. M. Forster
A master of the English novel who mapped the treacherous terrain of human connection across social barriers and continents.
1879–1970 (age 91)·English novelist and writer·Birthday: January 1·The Gilded Age
Biography
E.M. Forster wrote with a quiet, penetrating clarity about the forces that divide people and the fragile possibilities that might bring them together. Born into comfort but critical of its constraints, his novels—'A Room with a View', 'Howards End', 'A Passage to India'—dissect the English class system with irony and deep humanity. His characters often struggle to 'only connect', a phrase that became his famous motto, as they navigate the hypocrisies of Edwardian society. Forster's own life as a gay man in a repressive era informed his empathy for outsiders. After the success of 'A Passage to India', a profound reckoning with British imperialism, he largely stopped publishing novels, turning instead to essays, criticism, and a posthumously published gay love story, 'Maurice'. His work remains a touchstone for its psychological insight and moral urgency.
The Gilded Age
1860–1882
Born during or after the Civil War, they built industrial America — the railroads, the steel mills, the first skyscrapers. An era of massive wealth, massive inequality, and the belief that the future belonged to whoever could build it fastest.
E. was born in 1879, placing them squarely in The Gilded Age. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When E. Was Born
The biggest hits of 1879
E.'s Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1879Born
President: Rutherford B. Hayes
1884Started school
President: Chester A. Arthur
1892Became a teenager
President: Benjamin Harrison
1895Could drive
First public film screening by the Lumiere brothers
President: Grover Cleveland
1897Could vote
President: William McKinley
1900Turned 21
Boxer Rebellion in China
President: William McKinley
1909Turned 30
Robert Peary claims to reach the North Pole
President: William Howard Taft
1919Turned 40
Treaty of Versailles signed; Prohibition ratified
President: Woodrow Wilson
1929Turned 50
Wall Street crashes, triggering the Great Depression
Gas: $0.21/galPresident: Herbert Hoover"Singin' in the Rain" — Cliff EdwardsBest Picture: The Broadway Melody
1939Turned 60
World War II begins; The Wizard of Oz premieres
Gas: $0.19/galMin wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Over the Rainbow" — Judy GarlandBest Picture: Gone with the Wind
1949Turned 70
NATO founded; Mao proclaims the People's Republic of China
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Riders in the Sky" — Vaughn MonroeBest Picture: All the King's Men
1959Turned 80
Fidel Castro takes power in Cuba
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $12,400Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"The Battle of New Orleans" — Johnny HortonBest Picture: Ben-Hur
1970Died at 91
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
Key Achievements
- Wrote 'A Passage to India' (1924), a seminal novel critiquing British colonialism and exploring cultural clash.
- Authored the humanist rallying cry 'Howards End' (1910), centered on the famous injunction 'Only connect.'
- His early novel 'A Room with a View' (1908) became a landmark of social comedy and romantic awakening.
- Wrote 'The Machine Stops' (1909), a prescient and early work of dystopian science fiction about technological isolation.
Did You Know?
He was a close friend and literary executor for the poet Constantine Cavafy.
The novel 'Maurice', which deals with homosexual love, was written in 1913-14 but only published after his death in 1971.
He worked as a broadcaster for the BBC during World War II, delivering morale-boosting talks.
He declined a knighthood in 1949.
He co-wrote the libretto for Benjamin Britten's opera 'Billy Budd'.
“Only connect the prose and the passion, and both will be exalted, and human love will be seen at its height.”
