Collected Short Stories

Written at various dates before the First World War, these twelve stories contain themes that were to re-emerge in Forster's later work, in particular the attempt to escape from the 'respectable claim of reality'. 'The Machine Stops' is an Orwellian reaction to the earlier heavens of H. G. Wells; 'The Road from Colonus' sees the victory of a tedious family over an old man's vision; and 'The Celestial Omnibus' has innocence triumphing over experience. Above all, Forster demonstrates his belief in freedom, self-realization and a spiritual honesty that may be used to defeat the lies of repression.