Lurker here. I had trouble with this one because I wasn’t sure if it was supppsed to be a romantic comedy, a social commentary and really, what was so scandalous about a kiss in the cheek that required fleeing the area. The jump from Italy took a bit to adjust to, too. But when I just read it for some enjoyment it did seem to go a bit better. The very late epilogue was kind of funny. Definitely not one I would have chosen on my own but that is why I follow along wtih this group, to read things I would not normally read. I get so much more out of these discussions than I get on my own.
I finished the last book well before the month started, and I bought this book, but my time sensitive library loans have been my priority (you have to take them when you come off the waiting list) so I haven’t read this month’s book.
Hopefully I will do better for the next one.
I disliked the epilogue and really gave a hard time believing that Mrs H and Freddy wouldn’t forgive Lucy and welcome her back after a short while. They didn’t get along with Cecil and he with them.
I’m sorry he wrote such a sad epilogue.
I guess Lucy was doomed either way—loveless marriage to control-freak Cecil who would isolate her from her family or depressed George, scandalizing and isolating Lucy from those she was near and dear. Now I’m sad!
^ wasn’t that epilogue written 50 years later, mostly “tongue in cheek” as @Mary13 mentioned,
Really the 1908 novel should not be tainted with Forster’s commentary, Don’t be sad @HImom !!!
That’s what I hated about the book. She hardly had only two choices. Goodness, she could have gone back to Florence and met an attractive Italian man, or to Athens, or Constantinople, or Paris, or – London.
@VeryHappy, you might like the 2007 movie which has George dying in WW1, Lucy going back to Italy and picnicking with the Italian driver who drove them all to Fiesole. I just never saw George as truly depressed. Perhaps I should have! I don’t think what Forster thought in 1958 has that much bearing on what his intentions were in 1908, but it was fun to read.
Speaking of weird endings when I was young one of my favorite books was The Princess and the Gobline, there was a sequel called The Princess and Curdie which would have been fine except the author felt obliged to tell you that while the Princess and Curdie lived happily ever after but they have no children, and everything fell apart after they died. I remember reading this, and for the first time ever, just feeling the author was wrong, and just being mean for no apparent reason. It’s the first time I remember ever realizing that the author was not necessarily the authority, sometimes they’ve created something greater than themselves.
Yes, especially after inheriting an independence, I could envision Lucy perhaps traveling with her mom or beloved brother Freddy. Maybe she’d meet someone she fancied, maybe not. Maybe she’d live in London for a while.
This discussion made me remember that George Bernard Shaw wrote a sequel - literally called Sequel - about what happens to Eliza after Pygmalion. He was incensed that Broadway and Hollywood implied she would end up with Professor Higgins. (He intended the play to support the suffragettes.) In the sequel, Eliza marries Freddy and they open a flower shop, although they need a lot of help along the way. https://www.bartleby.com/138/6.html. It’s a very entertaining read and puts a whole new dimension on My Fair Lady. My favorite part:
E.M. Forster’s 1958 article was entertaining, but about as valid as my own epilogue, which I hereby present:
Mrs. Honeychurch manages to stay mad at Lucy for approximately six weeks following her marriage to George, until one day when the young couple unexpectedly stops by Windy Corner to find Mrs. Honeychurch writing (and rewriting) a letter to Lucy to the effect that Freddy misses her terribly and she really shouldn’t make him suffer so. Lucy hugs and kisses her mother, Mrs. Honeychurch makes tea, Freddy challenges George to a game of tennis, and all is forgiven.
George and Lucy settle nearby, and Mrs. Honeychurch becomes a doting grandmother to their four children, three boys and a girl named Violet. All are baptized by the Reverend Beebe, to his great relief. Mrs. Honeychurch grows quite fond of her son-in-law George, who, it turns out, has a gift for staking dahlias.
During World War I, George joins the ranks of 16,000 other conscientious objectors and is assigned to the Friends Ambulance Unit in France, where he assists with evacuating injured soldiers by train. Freddy enlists, and his medical background leads him to a military hospital where he spends most of the war fighting the scourge of Spanish flu. He later becomes a respected expert on infectious diseases.
George returns to his clerk job, but moves quickly up the ladder and is eventually appointed chairman of the Great Western Railway. Meanwhile, Lucy pursues a musical career. She befriends Charlie Chaplin, who describes her talent by saying, “In my lifetime I have met three geniuses; Professor Einstein, Winston Churchill, and Lucy Honeychurch Emerson. I am not a trained musician but I can only say that her touch was exquisite, her expression wonderful, and her technique extraordinary."
Charlotte Bartlett becomes the nanny to George and Lucy’s children; they adore her. In her spare time, she writes children’s books.
Mr. Emerson moves to Greece, where he finds the climate to be good for his rheumatism. He spends most days playing pinochle with the Miss Alans.
Cecil becomes a member of Parliament. He amasses an impressive personal library, which includes the complete works of Oscar Wilde, all first editions. He never marries.
Lucy and George live to enjoy grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Every year, they return to the pension in Italy to celebrate their anniversary. While there, they always make a trip to Santa Croce. Italians drive them.
The End
@Mary13 – Love it!
Wonderful!
@mary13 you have a gift!!! I will forget the story in the future, but won’t forget these predictions -
tea and tennis and all is forgiven
Four children one named “violet” ( whom they often kiss )
George has a gift of “staking Dahlias” (the newest competition amongst local and regional gardeners )
Freddy becomes an infectious disease expert, ( all those books he read paid off)
George becomes chairman of the railway ( I honestly thought mr Emerson was a rich railroad owner, hoped for the entire fantasy as I read the book, then Forster made Lucy an heiress so no money worries for them)
Charlotte- writes children’s book, - ( everytime I read her name I heard Charlotte Brontë )
Mr Emerson and th Miss Alan’s in Greece !
Cecil, and Oscar Wilde Collection , unmarried of course.( member of parliament ha )
And, the Italians drive them.
Omg this is brilliant, wonderful, happy, and …perfect in all ways,
Geroge has become the “Forrest Gump: Of The Turn of the Century”
Life was like a room, ya never know what kind of view you’re gonna get”
@mary13 perhaps having a house of guests, and being sleep deprived ( based on when you posted ) stir your creative juices! …thank you, we all needed that
@SouthJerseyChessMom, you guessed it — I am totally sleep-deprived.
Charlie Chaplin’s quote is real, by the way, but he said it about pianist Clara Haskil (a noted performer of both Beethoven and Schumann). Wikipedia is my friend after midnight.
Love your ending - especially George’s gift for staking dahlias. 
Excellent ending!!!
Better than Forster’s real one.
@Mary13 — do also love your ending more than the epilogue! Yay! Also love My Faur Lady sequel—it’s delightful.
Thank you, @Mary13 --that made me smile.
I just finished rereading A Room with a View and like it better than I did the first time. Odd and I’m not sure why. Tis true though.
@mathmom’s probably right: I should watch the film.
^ Yes, @ignatius, you must watch the film (the Merchant Ivory, not the BBC)!
I wondered if there were any biopics out there about E.M. Forster — couldn’t find any, but came across this article: https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/books/2012/feb/17/e-m-forster-my-policeman
Forster’s romantic relationships were a bit more scandalous thsn a kiss on the cheek.