A Room with a View discussion

I haven't read this yet, but it sounds similar to Jane Austen's books. Would it be a good book for Jane Austen fans?

It's not really like Jane Austen - it's set in a later time (early 1900s instead of 1810s), which means that society operates with different rules, and there's more action and less contemplation. The writing is very different too.

However, if you enjoy Jane Austen you know that you can read slower, more wordy books than those generally written nowadays, and you can appreciate that people used to live by different rules and standards. And that some things are the same in every age! So, you will probably enjoy it.

E.M. Forster is one of the all-time geniuses. "Passage to India" is my favourite one.

Please don't insult Forster. This is far, far better than anything Jane Austen ever wrote.

It's a great summer read - it's like a cross between Jane Austen and Oscar Wilde - it's about people in social situations of the era and the authors language is clever (without the wit of Oscar Wilde). I love Jane Austen and I really liked Room with a View but I agree with Ana that his Passage to India is his better work. That being said, if the only reason you're asking is because you like Jane Austen then I think Room with a View is a better choice for you - it's got more new relationship tension.

I think Room With a View is a delightful book and good if you want something to bridge the difference between period novels and modern books, it strikes a nice balance between the two.

The romance is delightful and the characters are a joy.

Ali wrote: "I haven't read this yet, but it sounds similar to Jane Austen's books. Would it be a good book for Jane Austen fans?"

it isn't like Jane Austen, but I think an Austen fan would love this book, and it would be an easy read. The language is more contemporary since it was written almost 100 years closer to our time.

It's like Jane Austen but edgier and a bit darker maybe. I liked it a lot, and I like Austen, but it's a bit more of a coming of age story than a romance, although it does have romance too.

Katrina wrote: "Please don't insult Forster. This is far, far better than anything Jane Austen ever wrote."

agreed. Austen is brilliant but wrote chick lit

also, additionally, Forster is a socialist and his sentiments are reflected in his work. Austen would have been considered liberal by her contemporaries - but not a socialist as such.

I can't see that they have very much in common, but I think that a fan of Austen would like A Room With A View. Personally, I've always been an Austen fan, and this is one of my favorite books.

A Room With A View is one of my favourite books. It has wonderful characters and witty dialogue. The settings are gorgeous; evocative of golden evenings and lazy English summers.

Lucy Honeychurch is a wonderful little madam of a heroine and a great foil for George's more insular and thoughtful hero.

I could read this book over and over again and never grow bored of it it really is a gorgoeus little keeper of a read.

I should also say that I adore Jane Austen but this has little in common with her books. Please do not let that put you off though as if you enjoy JA's work i cannot imagine that you would not enjoy this treasure.

Rudy wrote: "I also could read the EmForster novels over and over - Indeed, on an evening home alone recently, I had to rewatch the movie - Room w a View...fun."

I am not saying that I am at all suggestible but I read that and thought 'ooohh! Me too! And grabbed my copy of the film to watch.

Nothing like Jane Austen, thank goodness :)

EM Forster once described himself as an "Austenist", but I don't think A Room with a View has anything to do with Austen's novel. it has a totally different style and even opposite points of view. Also, Austen and EM Forster had totally different attitudes toward elopement.

No, A Room with a View should not be compared to Austen. I agree with Maria, totally different style and opposite points of view. The protagonist of A Room with a View plays the piano, perhaps that is the one comparison.

No, Forster is a lot more enjoyable than Austen in my opinion. The style is a lot different as well as the time period, plus Forster seems a lot more progressive in the messages he tries to convey in most of his novels than Austen.

If you enjoy A Room With a View, read Maurice. It's Forster's best in my humble opinion.

I read 'A Room With A View' while on holiday in Italy and thought it was wonderful. His descriptions of Florence are really evocative.
It's nothing like Jane Austen's books, although fans of her work will probably like it. For a start, A Room With A View is written a century later then Austen's books.
I also recommend another of his novels, Howards End.

Ali wrote: "I haven't read this yet, but it sounds similar to Jane Austen's books. Would it be a good book for Jane Austen fans?"

No

I don't want to read Jane Auster. Mary read