This award-winning novel about a conflict between a British woman and an Indian man amid the stirrings of rebellion against empire is "a revelation" (The New York Times).
Selected as one of the 100 great works of 20th century English literature by the Modern Library and winner pf the 1924 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction, E. M. Forster's A Passage to India is a brilliant critique of the relations between the English and the native population of India during the colonial period in which Britain ruled India.
The story revolves around four characters: Dr. Aziz, his British friend Mr. Cyril Fielding, Mrs. Moore, and Miss Adela Quested. During a trip to the fictitious Marabar Caves (modeled on the Barabar Caves of Bihar), Adela thinks she finds herself alone with Dr. Aziz in one of the caves (when in fact he is in an entirely different cave), and subsequently panics and flees; it is assumed that Dr. Aziz has attempted to assault her. Aziz's trial, and its run-up and aftermath, bring to a boil the common racial tensions and prejudices between Indians and the British who rule India.
Set against the backdrop of the British Raj and the Indian independence movement in the 1920s, the novel is based on Forster's experiences in India, deriving the title from Walt Whitman's 1870 poem "Passage to India" in Leaves of Grass.
This version includes:
- a detailed table of contents for easier navigation
- a short biography of the author, E. M. Forster
