Where Angels Fear to Tread

“Where Angels Fear to Tread” is the impassioned novel by E. M. Forster, the acclaimed English novelist and essayist. Published in 1905, the title was inspired by a quote from Alexander Pope: “For fools rush in where angels fear to tread”. This affecting and thought-provoking novel is the story of Lilia Herriton, an English widow, who while traveling with her friend Caroline Abbott in Italy, falls in love with Gino, a much younger Italian man. This puts Lilia at odds with her dead husband’s family as they see this new relationship as a betrayal. In spite of the family’s opposition, Lilia decides to stay in Italy and marries Gino. The Herritons try to stop her by sending Lilia’s brother-in-law, Philip, to Italy but he is too late and she is already married and pregnant by the time Philip arrives. Sadly, Lilia’s happiness in her new life is short-lived and she dies giving birth to her son. The Herritons cannot leave the matter alone however and return to Italy in an attempt to take custody of Lilia’s child and raise him as an Englishman, setting in motion a tragic chain of events. Forster’s novel remains a powerful critique of the narrow-mindedness of English society at the beginning of the 20th century. This edition includes a biographical afterword.