E.M. Forster's 'The Longest Journey' Receives First German Translation, Revealing Author's Personal Struggles

E.M. Forster's 1907 novel 'The Longest Journey' has been published for the first time in German, translated by Niklas Fischer. The work follows protagonist Rickie Elliot, a sensitive young man who faces repeated failures in his literary ambitions and personal life, ultimately meeting a tragic end. Literary executor Christopher Isherwood noted that Forster, born in 1879, concealed his homosexuality throughout his life, likely influenced by Oscar Wilde's trial. Forster considered this novel his favorite despite its lack of commercial success, viewing it as an exploration of his own fears through an alter ego. The translation allows German readers to access this early work, which contains coded references to themes Forster developed more openly in later novels like 'A Room with a View' and 'A Passage to India'.