Wuthering Heights (1847), by Charlotte Bronte, is an early Gothic novel by one of the four writers Forster deems truly prophetic. It concerns themes of inheritance and legitimacy among the upper classes of the English countryside and includes elements of the supernatural.

Moby Dick (1851), by Herman Melville, is considered one of the greatest novels ever written. It narrates one man's obsession with the pursuit of Moby Dick, a great white whale that he is determined to kill. Forster deems this one of the truly prophetic novels ever written.

The novel The Brothers Karamazov (1879-1880) is a masterpiece by the Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky, whom Forster deemed one of four truly prophetic novelists. It concerns a man accused of the murder of his own father.

Howard's End (1910), a novel by Forster and his first major literary success, is concerned with divisions among...