Miss Lucy Honeychurch is on a voyage to Florence, Italy, with her cousin Charlotte at a time when upper middle class English women were starting to lead more independent, adventurous lives. When they arrive, they discover that they have been given a room overlooking a drab courtyard, instead of a room with a view of the River Arno. What follows is a story of murder, romance, various marriage proposals, betrayal, and an opportunity for Lucy to find lifelong love.

A Room with a View is E. M. Forster's lightest and most optimistic novel. It follows a young woman in the restrained culture of Edwardian era England. Set in Italy and England, the story is both a romance and a humorous critique of English society at the beginning of the 20th century. The Modern Library ranked A Room with a View 79th on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century.