I have read so much English literature in my lifetime, I honestly almost skipped this country. I mean, really! Peter Rabbit, Peter Pan, Mary Poppins, The Secret Garden, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Winnie the Pooh, Harry Potter, Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, Sherlock Holmes, Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Remains of the Day, Handmaid’s Tale, Frankenstein, 1984, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Shakespeare, the list goes on!
Well, I’ve now added Howard’s End by E.M. Forster to the list. I enjoyed it more than I expected to, considering the effort that generally goes into reading classics (slow pacing, long sections of prose with archaic vocabulary and grammar, etc).
I remember hearing about a movie of this book being made in the 1990s that won some awards, but I never saw it. I am curious now to see how it was adapted to film. Did they cast an actress as Margaret who is unattractive enough to explain how this kind, intelligent, wealthy woman remains single into her thirties? How are her and Helen’s philosophical meanderings presented? Does the author’s humor come across? Do the romances feel as understated as they do in the book, or did they bring more heat and passion into it for a modern audience? I would like to know if Henry is given a bit more personality than the absent-minded gentleman who somehow created a rubber empire.
Also, while some pivotal scenes of the book are set on fictional estates in the countryside, most of the book takes place within London, at places I have visited. Were these parts of the story filmed on location, for instance ơn the Embankment or at King’s Cross station? If so, what movie magic did they do to make them look old fashioned? (I had similar questions when visiting Game of Thrones filming locations in Croatia.)
In short, I will be looking to see if Howard’s End is available on any of the streaming services we use. With any luck that will be my next airplane movie.
