E. M. Forster, Abinger Harvest

Peter Childs (Birmingham Newman University)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.08: English Writing and Culture of the early Twentieth Century , 1900-1945.
Vol. editors: Chris Baldick (Goldsmiths College, University of London), Peter Childs (Birmingham Newman University), Louise McDonald (Birmingham Newman University), Andrew Radford (University of Glasgow)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1936

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Autobiography (any)
Non-Fiction
- Commentary / Criticism (literary)
- Guidebooks / Travel writing
Essays/ Lectures (any)

Resources

Save to Bookshelf

Abinger Harvest

is a mixture of autobiography and criticism, a collection of around eighty articles, essays, reviews, poems and notes written by Forster for various periodicals since 1903. The book is divided into five sections: “The Present”, a commentary on contemporary life and beliefs containing “Notes on the English Character”, in which he famously says “we are

perfide Albion

, the island of hypocrites, the people who have built up an Empire with a Bible in one hand, a pistol in the other, and financial concessions in both pockets”; “Books”, which is an assembly of some of Forster's literary criticism; “The Past”, a number of pieces about history and historical figures; “The East”, a number of essays on Indian and “Oriental” subjects from Marco Polo…

Please log in to consult the article in its entirety. If you are a member (student of staff) of a subscribing institution (see List), you should be able to access the LE on campus directly (without the need to log in), and off-campus either via the institutional log in we offer, or via your institution's remote access facilities, or by creating a personal user account with your institutional email address. If you are not a member of a subscribing institution, you will need to purchase a personal subscription. For more information on how to subscribe as an individual user, please see under Individual Subcriptions.

235 words

Citation: Childs, Peter. "Abinger Harvest". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 08 January 2001 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=6877, accessed 21 November 2024.]

E. M. Forster, Abinger Harvest

Dates

Places

Genres and Modes

Resources

Save this article

Leave Feedback