Howards End Study Guide

The Bloomsbury Group

E.M. Forster was a member of the elite Bloomsbury Group, which included authors, artists, and other English intellectuals. The group is named after the area of London in which they often met, Bloomsbury. The group officially existed from the early twentieth century until World War II, and topics of discussion often included truth and beauty.

The Bloomsbury Group was founded by graduates of Cambridge University, notably Thoby Stephen. Stephen died young, but not before his sisters, Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell, became members of his intellectual circle. After their brother's death, Virginia and Vanessa often hosted meetings at their respective homes. The social and cultural impact of individual members of the group, especially Virginia Woolf, was the central reason outside interest in the group was quite high.

Essentially, the Bloomsbury Group consisted of very intelligent close friends who refused to conform to social expectations. In their time, they were often seen as elitist and exclusive, but today people tend to be most interested in the sexual aspect of the group. Some members were married only for show, and maintained simultaneous relationships with other people in the group. However, all of this was kept very quiet. Many members were bisexual or homosexual, and monogamy was not expected. E.M. Forster is believed to have been a homosexual, a theory many believe confirmed by the posthumous publication of his novel, Maurice, which is essentially a homosexual love story.