Mapped
A Passage to India
E. M. Forster
A young Englishwoman and an Indian doctor meet across the divide of the Raj, and a walk in the caves ends in an accusation that pulls the whole civil station apart. The invented city of Chandrapore is drawn from Bankipore, the British civil station beside Patna on the Ganges, where Forster stayed; the Marabar Caves are his version of the real Barabar Caves, the ancient rock-cut caves in the hills near Gaya that he visited. The final section moves west to the Hindu princely state of Mau, drawn from Dewas and Chhatarpur in Central India, where Forster served.
5 places →
A Room with a View
E. M. Forster
A young Englishwoman on the Grand Tour is unsettled by Florence and by a fellow guest at her pension, and the feeling follows her home. Part One maps the real city: a pension on the Arno embankment, the church of Santa Croce, the Piazza della Signoria where she faints, and the violet-covered slopes at Fiesole. Part Two moves to the Surrey hills near Dorking, mapped as scenes outside the setting.
6 places →