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The Machine Stops and Other Stories

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A new selection of E. M. Forster's exquisite short stories, now in the beautifully designed Penguin English Library Series 
 
'We created the Machine, to do our will, but we cannot make it do our will now. It has robbed us of the sense of space and of the sense of touch, it has blurred every human relation and narrowed down love to a carnal act, it has paralyzed our bodies and our wills, and now it compels us to worship it.' 
 
Like his much-loved novels, E. M. Forster's short stories are rich in irony and alive with sharp observations on the surprises life holds. Telling tales of violent events, discomforting coincidences, and other disruptive happenings, his sharp and vivid prose has the ability to throw the characters', and reader's, perceptions and beliefs off balance. 
 
Selected to appeal to a new generation of readers around the world, this new selection of short stories in the Penguin English Library series celebrates E. M. Forster's unparalleled skill for storytelling, beginning with his masterful work of science fiction, The Machine Stops.

Edward Morgan Forster (1879-1970) was educated at King's College, Cambridge, with whom he had a lifelong connection. He was elected to an Honorary Fellowship in 1946. He wrote six novels - Where Angels Fear to Tread (1905), The Longest Journey (1907), A Room with a View (1908), Howards End (1910), A Passage to India (1924), which won both the Prix Femina Vie Heureuse and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. Maurice , written in 1914, was published posthumously in 1971. He also published two volumes of short stories; two collections of essays; a critical work (Aspects of the Novel); The Hill of Devi; two biographies; two books about Alexandria; and the libretto for Britten's opera Billy Budd. He died in 1970. In his obituary The Times called him 'one of the most esteemed English novelists of his time'.

'We created the Machine, to do our will, but we cannot make it do our will now. It has robbed us of the sense of space and of the sense of touch, it has blurred every human relation and narrowed down love to a carnal act, it has paralyzed our bodies and our wills, and now it compels us to worship it.' 
 
Like his much-loved novels, E. M. Forster's short stories are rich in irony and alive with sharp observations on the surprises life holds. Telling tales of violent events, discomforting coincidences, and other disruptive happenings, his sharp and vivid prose has the ability to throw the characters', and readers', perceptions and beliefs off balance. 
 
Selected to appeal to a new generation of readers around the world, this new selection of short stories in the Penguin English Library series celebrates E. M. Forster's unparalleled skill for storytelling, beginning with his masterful work of science fiction, The Machine Stops.

Abridged Edition

Penguin Readers Level 4: A Room with a View (ELT Graded Reader)

Penguin Readers is an ELT graded reader series for learners of English as a foreign language. With carefully adapted text, new illustrations and language learning exercises, the print edition also includes instructions to access supporting material online. 
 
Titles include popular classics, exciting contemporary fiction, and thought-provoking non-fiction, introducing language learners to bestselling authors and compelling content. 
 
The eight levels of Penguin Readers follow the Common European Framework of Reference for language learning (CEFR). Exercises at the back of each Reader help language learners to practise grammar, vocabulary, and key exam skills. Before, during and after-reading questions test readers' story comprehension and develop vocabulary. 
 
A Room with a View, a Level 4 Reader, is A2+ in the CEFR framework. The text is made up of sentences with up to three clauses, introducing more complex uses of present perfect simple, passives, phrasal verbs and simple relative clauses. It is well supported by illustrations, which appear regularly. 
 
Lucy Honeychurch is on holiday in Florence, when she meets the strange Mr Emerson and his son, George. Feeling frightened by George's feelings for her, she soon leaves for Rome. But when the Emersons becomes her neighbours in England, Lucy must decide how she really wants to live her life. 
 
Visit the Penguin Readers website 
Exclusively with the print edition, readers can unlock online resources including a digital book, audio edition, lesson plans and answer keys.

Edward Morgan Forster (1879-1970) wrote six novels - Where Angels Fear to Tread (1905), The Longest Journey (1907), A Room with a View (1908), Howards End (1910), A Passage to India (1924). Maurice , written in 1914, was published posthumously in 1971. He also published two volumes of short stories; two collections of essays; a critical work (Aspects of the Novel); The Hill of Devi; two biographies; two books about Alexandria; and the libretto for Britten's opera Billy Budd.

With carefully adapted text, new illustrations, language practise activities and additional online resources, the Penguin Readers series introduces language learners to bestselling authors and compelling content. Titles include popular classics, exciting contemporary fiction, and thought-provoking non-fiction. 
 
A Room with a View, a Level 4 Reader, is A2+ in the CEFR framework. The text is made up of sentences with up to three clauses, introducing more complex uses of present perfect simple, passives, phrasal verbs and simple relative clauses. It is well supported by illustrations, which appear regularly. 
 
Lucy Honeychurch is on holiday in Florence, when she meets the strange Mr Emerson and his son, George. Feeling frightened by George's feelings for her, she soon leaves for Rome. But when the Emersons becomes her neighbours in England, Lucy must decide how she really wants to live her life.

A BBC Radio Full-Cast Dramatisation

A Room with a View

A sparkling BBC Radio dramatisation of E M Forster's classic comedy of manners, set in Edwardian England and Italy 
 
Young, naive Lucy Honeychurch is visiting Italy for the first time, accompanied by her older cousin and chaperone, Charlotte Bartlett. On arrival at the Pension Bertolini, a mix-up over rooms leads to a meeting with the eccentric Mr Emerson and his brooding son, George. 
 
Frank, free-spirited and lower-class, the duo are not respectable companions for a lady - but as Lucy tentatively explores Florence and the beautiful Tuscan countryside, she discovers a land of freedom and sensuality, where rigid social barriers are meaningless. Constantly thrown together with George, she finds herself increasingly attracted to him: much to her confusion and Charlotte's dismay. 
 
Back in England, she becomes engaged to the dull, domineering Cecil Vyse, but is haunted by memories of George - and when he reappears unexpectedly in her life, Lucy must choose between propriety and passion. Will she follow convention, or follow her heart? 
 
© 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd (P) 2023 BBC Studios Distribution Ltd

A Passage to India

'His great book ... masterly in its prescience and its lucidity' ANITA DESAI 
 
A compelling portrait of a society in the grip of imperialism, A Passage to India depicts the fate of individuals caught in the great political and cultural conflicts of their age. It begins when Adela and her elderly companion Mrs Moore arrive in the Indian town of Chandrapore, and feel trapped by its insular and prejudiced British community. Determined to explore the 'real India', they seek the guidance of the charming and mercurial Dr Aziz. But a mysterious incident occurs while they are exploring the Marabar caves, and the well-respected doctor soon finds himself at the centre of a scandal. 
 
Edited by OLIVER STALLYBRASS with an Introduction by PANKAJ MISHRA

E.M. Forster (Author) Edward Morgan Forster (1879-1970) wrote six novels - Where Angels Fear to Tread (1905), The Longest Journey (1907), A Room with a View (1908), Howards End (1910), A Passage to India (1924). Maurice , written in 1914, was published posthumously in 1971. He also published two volumes of short stories; two collections of essays; a critical work (Aspects of the Novel); The Hill of Devi; two biographies; two books about Alexandria; and the libretto for Britten's opera Billy Budd. Pankaj Mishra was born in North India in 1969 and is the author of The Romantics: A Novel and An End to Suffering: The Buddha in the World. Pankaj Mishra (External Editor) Pankaj Mishra is the author of From the Ruins of Empire and several other books. He is a columnist at Bloomberg View and the New York Times Book Review, and writes regularly for The Guardian, the London Review of Books, and the New Yorker. A fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, he lives in London.

When Adela and her elderly companion Mrs Moore arrive in the Indian town of Chandrapore, they quickly feel trapped by its insular and prejudiced British community. Determined to explore the 'real India', they seek the guidance of the charming and mercurial Dr Aziz, a cultivated Indian Muslim. But a mysterious incident occurs while they are exploring the Marabar caves with Aziz, and the well-respected doctor soon finds himself at the centre of a scandal that rouses violent passions among both the British and their Indian subjects. A masterly portrait of a society in the grip of imperialism, A Passage to India compellingly depicts the fate of individuals caught between the great political and cultural conflicts of the modern world.

Twelve dramatisations and readings including A Passage to India, A Room with a View and Howards End

E. M. Forster: A BBC Radio Collection

A beautiful collection of BBC Radio dramas and readings based on the work of EM Forster.

Dramatisations and readings of EM Forster’s finest works, plus Stephen Wakelam’s radio play A Dose of Fame and the documentary feature Forster in India: Sex, Books and Empire 
 
One of the greatest English novelists of the 20th century, EM Forster was also an accomplished short story writer. This collection includes stunning adaptations of his classic novels A Passage to India, Where Angels Fear to Tread, A Room with a View and Howards End. Among the star casts are Penelope Wilton, Ellie Kendrick, Sian Thomas, Emilia Fox, Sheila Hancock and John Hurt. 
 
Also featured are four of his short tales – ‘The Story of the Siren’ (read by Dan Stevens), ‘The Road from Colonus’ (read by Andrew Sachs), ‘The Obelisk’ (read by Ruth Wilson) and ‘Ansell’ (read by Peter Kenny). 
 
Forster’s posthumous novel, Maurice, is dramatised with a full cast and stars Alex Wyndham and Bertie Carvel, while Stephen Wakelam’s drama A Dose of Fame, starring Stephen Campbell Moore as Forster, sees the author grappling with a mysterious death, his own sexuality and an idea for his next novel. 
 
In addition, Zareer Masani presents a revealing Radio 3 profile exploring Forster’s literature, love life and personal passage to India.

A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation

Based on the classic novel by E M Forster, this epic full-cast drama is set against the backdrop of the British Raj and the Indian Independence movement during the 1920s.

Edward Morgan Forster was born in London in 1879. He wrote six novels, four of which appeared before the First World War, Where Angels Fear to Tread (1905), The Longest Journey (1907), A Room with a View (1908), and Howard’s End (1910). An interval of fourteen years elapsed before he published A Passage to India. Maurice, his novel on a homosexual theme, finished in 1914, was published posthumously in 1971. Malcolm Bradbury was a novelist, critic, television dramatist and Emeritus Professor of American Studies at the University of East Anglia. He is author of the novels Eating People is Wrong (1959); Stepping Westward (1965); The History Man (1975); Rates of Exchange (1983) which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize; Cuts: A Very Short Novel (1987); and Doctor Criminale (1992). His critical works include The Modern American Novel (1984; revised edition, 1992); No, Not Bloomsbury (essays, 1987); The Modern world: Ten Great Writers (1988); From Puritanism to Post-modernism: A History of American Literature (with Richard Ruland, 1991).

Based on the classic novel by E M Forster, this epic full-cast drama is set against the backdrop of the British Raj and the Indian Independence movement during the 1920s. 
 
When Adela Quested and her companion Mrs Moore arrive in the Indian town of Chandrapore, they quickly feel trapped by its insular and prejudiced 'Anglo-Indian' community. Determined to escape the parochial English enclave and explore the 'real India', they seek the guidance of the charming and mercurial Dr Aziz, a cultivated Indian Muslim. Through them, Aziz becomes friends with Cyril Fielding. 
 
But a mysterious incident occurs when Aziz accompanies the women to explore the Marabar Caves, and the well-respected doctor soon finds himself at the centre of a scandal that rouses violent passions among both the British and their Indian subjects. The consequences affect everyone, and threaten Aziz and Fielding's friendship. 
 
Exploring issues of colonialism, faith and the limits of comprehension, the story begins and ends by posing a question: in this context, is it possible for an Englishman and an Indian to be friends?

E. M. Forster

Oliver Stallybrass

Diarmuid Hester

Beautifully written . . . has a freshness, sparkle and bite

Have we been as ready for Forster's honesty as we thought we were? . . . the best realized of the homosexual stories dovetail perfectly into the best of all his work. Even the earliest and most ephemeral of them will be recognized as the frailer embodiments of the same passionate convictions that made for the moral iron of his novels

And Other Stories

&lsquo;Neither of them knew when the end came, and he when he realised it felt no sadness, no remorse&rsquo; 
 
Ranging from moving to satirical, historical to supernatural, Forster&rsquo;s masterful storytelling is on full display in these tales of passion and betrayal. Love, death, class and race collide in these short stories, which are alive with sharp social observations and thrum with the threat of violence that stalked gay men&rsquo;s lives. 
 
Written between 1903 and 1957, only two out of the fourteen stories in this collection were published during E. M. Forster&rsquo;s lifetime: most of the other stories remained unpublished because of their overtly gay themes. 
 
Introduction by Diarmuid Hester

E. M. Forster

Praise for The Life to Come

Beautifully written . . . has a freshness, sparkle and bite

Have we been as ready for Forster's honesty as we thought we were? . . . the best realized of the homosexual stories dovetail perfectly into the best of all his work. Even the earliest and most ephemeral of them wil ...

Books by E. M. Forster

Articles featuring E. M. Forster

My Policeman: The unlikely literary inspiration behind the new Harry Styles film

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