E. M. Forster in Egypt

Abstract

The research aims at examining the kind of relationship the English novelist Edward Morgan Forster (1879-1970) had with Egypt during his stay there for three years, when he traveled presumably for only six months to work as a Red Cross Searcher to report missing soldiers and interview wounded soldiers during the First World War (1914-1918). Egypt was then a colony of the British Empire. The research shows Forster's attitude towards Egypt, Egyptian life, customs, music and nature, and towards Egyptians and Europeans, including Anglo-Egyptians and other foreigners. It also explains the reasons behind the change of his view of Egyptians and traces his sympathy with them, especially after being acquainted with Mohamed el Adl, an Egyptian tram conductor. After leaving Egypt, he continued to be connected to it emotionally, literarily and politically. He revisited it three times later. He admitted its positive effect on him and he continued to support it politically. It inspired him some short stories, two geography and history books of ancient Egypt. A big deal of his experience in Egypt was echoed in two of his novels, his Indian novel A Passage to India and his posthumous novel Maurice..