《看得见风景的房间》(A Room with a View)是英国作家E.M.福斯特的代表作品。爱德华·摩根·福斯特(Edward Morgan Forster,通称E. M. Forster,1879~1970)是本世纪英国著名的作家,其作品包括六部小说,两集短篇小说集,几部传记和一些评论文章。他的长篇小说几乎都是反映英国中上层阶级的精神贫困,在每部作品中主人公都试图通过挣脱社会与习俗的约束来求得个人解放。福斯特的作品语风清新淡雅,虽然人物的个性很容易被把握,但命运安排往往令人不可预测却又铺叙自然。八十年代以来《印度之行》、《看得见风景的房间》、《天使不敢驻足的地方》、《莫利斯》和《霍华德庄园》都被成功地搬上银幕,使福斯特的作品得到了更为广泛的流传。虽然这些作品反映的都是二十世纪初英国的社会状况,但其间表达的自由、平等与人道的精神对正在走入二十一世纪的人类社会仍有实际的借鉴意义。
The Signora had no business to do it," said Miss Bartlett, "no business at all. She promised us south rooms with a view close together, instead of which here are north rooms, looking into a courtyard, and a long way apart. Oh, Lucy!"
"And a Cockney, besides!" said Lucy, who had been further saddened by the Signora's unexpected accent. "It might be London." She looked at the two rows of English people who were sitting at the table; at the row of white bottles of water and red bottles of wine that ran between the English people; at the portraits of the late Queen and the late Poet Laureate that hung behind the English people, heavily framed; at the notice of the English church (Rev. Cuthbert Eager, M. A. Oxon.), that was the only other decoration of the wall. "Charlotte, don't you feel, too, that we might be in London? I can hardly believe that all kinds of other things are just outside. I suppose it is one's being so tired."