Where Angels Fear to Tread (1905) is a novel by English author E.M. Forster. The work was Forster-s first novel, and its success helped launch his lengthy and critically acclaimed career as a writer of literary fiction. Where Angels Fear to Tread-the title is drawn from Alexander Pope-s An Essay on Criticism (1711)-is a moving meditation on class, gender, social convention, and the grieving process.
Following the death of her husband, a widow named Lilia Herriton travels to Tuscany with her friend Caroline Abbott. In Italy, Lilia falls in love with a young Italian named Gino, with whom she decides to remain. This prompts a fierce backlash among members of her deceased husband-s family, who privilege their honor and name over Lilia-s happiness. Although they send Philip, her brother-in-law, to Italy in order to retrieve her, Lilia has already married Gino, and is pregnant with their child. When she dies in childbirth, however, a fight ensues over the care o
