15 JUNE 1951, Page 5

Nothing could be more tantalising than the reading Mr..E. M.

Forster gave at the Aldeburgh Festival from a novel that was begun and never finished—and is destined not to be finished, because, as Mr. Forster said, "it went wrong." So do many engaging characters in the world, who yet somehow remain engaging. Given a choice between a Forster novel that went wrong and no Forster novel who could hesitate for a moment— except of course its author ^ And the decision unfortunately rests with him. How long is it since we had Howard's End and A Passage to India ? How long have we been waiting for some- thing more ? Mr. Forster knows, of course, that he tantalises. and since there is not a trace of affectation in his attitude, it some- how suits' him. I know no one who can explain to you more