Considered by many to be Forster's masterpiece, Howards End was ranked 38th in the Modern Library listing of the best English novels of the 20th century. A chance acquaintance brings together the preposterous bourgeois Wilcox family and the clever, cultured and idealistic Schlegel sisters. As clear-eyed Margaret develops a friendship with Mrs Wilcox, the impetuous Helen brings into their midst a young bank clerk named Leonard Bast, who lives at the edge of poverty and ruin. When Mrs Wilcox dies, her family discovers that she wants to leave her country home, Howards End, to Margaret. Thus does Forster set in motion a chain of events that entangle three different families, brilliantly portraying their aspirations to personal and social harmony.