Frank Harris, review of Howards End in The Saturday Review of Politics, Literature, Science, Art, and Finance, Volume 110 (1910), p. 688
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It is characteristic of Mr. Forster, to whom the Lares are living gods and the garden wych-elm a Hamadryad, that he titles his book after a house wherein personal relations ought to matter but are routed by telegrams and anger. For such a quality, and for the true comic sense with which he renders colloquial speech to betray cunning shadowings of personality in the speakers, the word Forsterian is already demanded. But "Howards End" is too big a thing to be either set aside or grappled to our souls at once; it will have to find its level after repeated regustation: such writing demands such reading.

— Frank Harris

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "It is characteristic of Mr. Forster, to whom the Lares are living gods and the garden wych-elm a Hamadryad, that he titles his book after a house wherein personal relations ought to matter but are routed by telegrams and anger. For such a quality, and for the true comic sense with which he renders colloquial speech to betray cunning shadowings of personality in the speakers, the word Forsterian is already demanded. But "Howards End" is too big a thing to be either set aside or grappled to our souls at once; it will have to find its level after repeated regustation: such writing demands such reading." in the context of "Frank Harris, review of Howards End in The Saturday Review of Politics, Literature, Science, Art, and Finance, Volume 110 (1910), p. 688" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "E. M. Forster" (Quotes about Forster) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
E. M. Forster

About E. M. Forster

Edward Morgan Forster (1 January 1879 – 7 July 1970) was an English novelist, short story writer, and essayist.