We've got your back. With the Tough-O-Meter, you'll know whether to bring extra layers or Swiss army knives as you summit the literary mountain. (10 = Toughest)
(5) Tree Line
This novel is over a hundred years old now, so there are occasional references that we've never heard of (like the Baedeker travel guides, which are no longer in print). But Forster's plot is easy to follow and (bonus!) the soap-opera-y melodrama gets pretty intense, especially after Lilia decides to throw caution to the wind and disobey her family.
It didn't take long for us here at Shmoop to get caught up in Lilia's whirlwind romance in Italy. Also, E.M. Forster is snarktastic and witty… reading Where Angels Fear to Tread can sometimes feel like gossiping with a good friend, or watching some especially bone-dry British humor. All in all, this novel is a way easier read than you might expect from a relic from 1905.