Where Angels Fear to Tread

A group of well-bred English people are confronted by a situation which is outside their experience. Their reactions are both unexpected and violent. The catalyst is the marriage of the widowed Lilia Herriton to an Italian twelve years her junior; and the contrast between the vitality of disreputable, violent, pitiable Gino and the narrowness and lifelessness of the English forms the central theme of the story. Told with a sympathy, a lightness, a grace of touch and a radiant atmosphere of humour, E.M. Forster's first novel shows what was to become his characteristic mastery of dialogue and character. 'I find it flawless--in the perfection of its structure, its subtle use of leitmotifs, its sureness of touch and tone, the deftness of its comedy, and the skill with which the comedy modulates via scenes of nightmare into a poignancy and pathos unsurpassed in Forster's work' -- Oliver Stallybrass.