Publisher's Synopsis
The novel is set in Florence, Italy, and describes a young English woman's first visit to the city of Renaissance art. It was a period when middle class English women were starting to lead independent lives. Lucy Honeychurch is touring Italy with her overbearing cousin and chaperone, Charlotte Bartlett. The novel opens with their complaints about the hotel, "The Pension Bertolini." Their primary concern is that although rooms with a view of the River Arno have been promised for each of them, their rooms instead look over a courtyard. A Mr. Emerson interrupts their ongoing verbal complaints, offering to exchange rooms with them, as he and his son George Emerson have rooms that look over the Arno. This behavior causes Miss Bartlett some concern, as it appears impolite. Without letting Lucy speak, Miss Bartlett refuses the offer, looking down on the Emersons because of their unconventional behavior and thinking it would place her under an obligation towards them. However, another guest at the pension, an Anglican clergyman by the name of Mr. Beebe, persuades the pair to accept the offer, assuring Miss Bartlett that Mr. Emerson only meant to be kind.
