The rural house | E.M. Forster

How can the theft of a cheap rain umbrella turn into a tragedy? Only in fine literature can one recognize life as a connected series of events, as in this enjoyable novel which its author described as his best work, and which critics have called for a hundred years "the timeless masterpiece of Forster," and which the reader cannot claim to know English literature without reading. In "The Cottage," a sudden chance encounter brings together the bourgeois Wilcox family and the two educated sisters, Margaret and Helen Schlegel. While the clever Margaret befriends Mrs. Wilcox, she receives in return an unexpected strange reward, as Helen, impulsive and lively, comes to them with the young employee Leonard, who lives on the edge of poverty and failure, committed to another woman hiding an old secret, and dreaming of an adventure that would give his life some meaning. Foster vividly depicts his characters' aspirations for personal and social stability, their collision with life's fixed realities, and their gradual realization that "this world is built with neglect and deficiency, and the beauty of the mountain, river, and setting sun may only be a paint job hiding the clumsy nature of its construction." "The Cottage" has been repeatedly adapted for radio, theater, opera, television, and cinema, gaining great popularity among audiences and winning awards. No wonder, as it is one of the most important landmarks of Western literature. We present it here with a skillful and beautiful translation by Mohamed Mufid Al-Shobashi.