Howards End

By: E. M. Forster

Narrated by: Emma Thompson

At the heart of Forester's masterpiece lie two families: the wealthy and business-minded Wilcoxes and the cultured and idealistic Schlegels. When the beautiful and independent Helen Schlegel begins an impetuous affair with the ardent Paul Wilcox, a series of events is sparked: some very funny, some very tragic, that results in a dispute over who will inherit Howards End, the Wilcoxes' charming country home.

As much about the clash between individual wills as the clash between the sexes and the classes, Howards End is a novel whose central tenet, "Only connect," remains a powerful prescription for modern life.

©1991 Orion Pictures Corp (P)1992 Penguin HighBridge Audio

Howard's End Doesn't Disappoint!

Emma Thompson was brilliant as she spoke for all the characters in this wonderful gem of Forster's.

Abridged version, well read

This is an excellent story. Emma Thompson, who acted the role of Margaret in a film version, reads the story very well, of course. My one disappointment is that this is an abridgement of the book, and I see no 'warning' of that anywhere.

One of my favorites

One of those classics I've read several times.
Emma Thompson as a narrator! It doesn't get any better.

Excellent Narration, Poor Abridgement

Emma Thompson is engaging and personifies the different characters wonderfully. I can't speak highly enough of her performance here! Unfortunately, this appears to be an abridged version of the book and so I was occasionally disoriented within the story line.

I hate audiobooks and I loved this

SO GOOD. Emma Thompson is masterful. I literally hate audiobooks and I’m going to listen to this a second time.

Beautifully read.

What about Emma Thompson’s performance did you like?

I thought Emma Thompson did a beautiful job reading this story. Her voice is a perfect fit for the narrator, which is why I chose this version over the others that are available.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

If you are familiar with Forster and like his work, you will probably respond well to "Howard's End." I enjoyed the "read" but in the end, Forster is not one of my favorites.

Loved Howard's End

Great narration by Emma Thompson with her English accent! Only wish the story was longer!

This is only 6 chapters

This is only 6 chapters of the book. I want a refund. Do not recommend.

Love Emma, Hate the Adbridgement

Any additional comments?

Emma Thompson is, of course, sublime, and her voice is not just an instrument but an entire orchestra. However, why was she conned into reading this abridged version of the book. The prose is so sublime, is the exact point of the book. I could see an abridged version of Anna Karenina (I know, shocking, but let me at it), but why Howard's End? I hope this isn't so college students can pretend to have read the book.
Why Emma, why?

Very abridged to mimic the movie & show

While Emma Thompson is wonderful and her reading is the reason I bought this audiobook, I was highly disappointed at how very abridged it was, it’s basically identical to the movie and to the TV show on BBC, perfectly fine if that’s all you want, but having seen both of those and having wanted to hear the entirety of the novel, this was very frustrating and not at all made clear in the description, I guess I should’ve read the reviews deeper. So if you love you love Emma Thompson, it’s worth it for her, but if you want the whole story, keep looking.