&quot;A Room with a View&quot; is a 1908 novel by English writer E. M. Forster, about a young woman in the restrained culture of Edwardian era England. The novel&nbsp;&nbsp;is both a romance and a humorous critique of English society at the beginning of the 20th century.<br /><br />Forster&rsquo;s novel was likely influenced by his own travels abroad in Italy and Europe. Additionally, the novel is set in Italy and England in the Edwardian period of English history, during the first decade of the 20th century. This was a transitional moment for Great Britain, as the nation moved gradually from the strict, somewhat repressive norms of Victorian society toward the full-blown modernity of the 20th century. The conflict between old and new in this historical moment is a prevalent tension throughout the novel.<br /><br /><i>The Modern Library</i> ranked &quot;A Room with a View&quot; 79th on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century.