In a 1959 lecture, "Three Countries," E. M. Forster called himself "a confirmed globetrotter," but the impact of travel on his life and work cannot adequately be suggested by that light phrase. What Forster learned as a traveler reinforced his belief in the ultimate importance of personal relationships, especially those that ignored traditional boundaries of gender, class, race, and culture. The egalitarian vision that set him apart from the more elitist writers among his contemporaries makes all his work, not just his novels, central to increasing multicultural understanding.

Forster's travel writings illustrate the cohesiveness of his creativity. The themes that dominate Alexandria: A History and a Guide (1922), Pharos and Pharillon (1923), The Hill of Devi (1953), and many letters and essays also resonate in his six novels: Where Angels Fear to Tread (1905), The Longest Journey (1907), A Room with a View (1908), Howards End (1910), A Passage to India (1924), and Maurice (1971). In his writings...