In several ways this novel was like the last I read. It features characters romanticizing over another land, but when they are there, they see it is quite unlike what they imagined. Instead of rural Main Street though, the setting is the village of Monteriano in Italy.
E.M. Forster’s Where Angels Fear to Tread was released in 1905. It is about a widowed mother, Lilia, who leaves her aristocratic society in England and runs off to Italy, where she instantly falls in love with and marries a local nobody named Gino. It causes quite the scandal in her old neighborhood. Lilia soon realizes all is not what it seems, when it becomes evident Gino only married her for her money, and spends his days cavorting around town. Lilia ends up alone, in fear of her husband, and finally dies during childbirth. When news reaches England, her former mother-in-law Mrs. Herriton sends her son Philip, daughter Harriet, and family friend Caroline off to “rescue” the baby to raise it among civilized society.
By this time Gino has had an about face. Where previously he would have sold the baby for money to live his newfound privileged lifestyle, he now loves his child and will not let him go. The climax comes when Harriet steals the baby during their evening ride to the train station to return to England, only to get in a carriage accident along the way in which the baby is killed. Harriet loses her mind to grief, Philip returns to Gino to give the bad news, and is only saved from being murdered by him when Caroline comes to the rescue. In the end, Philip realizes he has loved Caroline this whole time, but he is rebuffed when Caroline admits she has loved Gino from the start and has kept her feelings to herself all these years.
Like Main Street written about 15 years later, this novel features people hoping for one thing, and finding when they get it, it is not what they really wanted at all. And again there is a sort of longing for another life, something different than your own. The times have dated this book, with the idea that a 33 year old widow needs to be rescued, with the thought that her younger 20-something brother-in-law would be wiser simply because he is a man. The style is more thoughtful; not much “action” happens and the story can be told in a few minutes, but the characters spend a lot of time reflecting on thoughts and events. Certainly well written, but it feels like you are reading a book that is over a hundred years old.
Jons Movie Takes 