Abstract
E.M. Forster's memoir of life in Surrey and relations with his ground landlords there the Farrer family, concentrating on the period 1925-46, remained unpublished at his death. Although it seems to have a simple chronological narrative, and to give vent to some pretty raw and indiscreet confessions and complaints, I argue in this chapter that it should be understood as an example of 'autobiografiction' (Saunders 2010), a complex and artful combination of elements of fiction and life-writing. The importance of 'West Hackhurst' as a piece of literature is both its long-neglected importance to Forster's own view of his life, and as a powerful meditation on, and representation of, the failure of human communication.
| Original language | Undefined/Unknown |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | The Ethics of Literary Communication: Genuineness, Directness, Indirectness |
| Editors | Roger D. Sell, Adam Borch, Inna Lindgren |
| Publisher | John Benjamins |
| Pages | 61–80 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9789027271686 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9789027210364 |
| Publication status | Published - 2013 |
| MoE publication type | A3 Part of a book or another research book |
Keywords
- Biography
- Forster, E.M. (1879-1970)
- Memory