Imagine you are living a life of someone you are not. Imagine being married to the wrong person and they in various ways mold you into a miserable, weak prisoner. This novel we can be certain is deeply personal to E.M. Forster's own life. The longest journey is a journey to freedom in a time when certain things could not be openly expressed. It can apply to loving someone including physically of the "incorrect" sex. But it could be many other forms of confinement. Social class, religion, work, family. At any rate Forster touches an essential theme that has grown over the years. Be true to your real self, thank goodness doesn't come and go with the winds of fashion. This novel was originally published in England in 1907, to a weak reception. Alfred Knopf published this First American edition in 1922. It had fallen out of print in England. PLEASE NOTE that years after this First American Edition of 1922, New Directions reprinted the book and part of the reprint was the 1922 date of publication which is inaccurate. For one thing New Directions founded by James Laughlin was not founded until 1936. They did a number of reprints of important novels. But the New Directions edition was NOT published in 1922 as often listed. This is the First American and this copy has much of the front of the rare dust jacket clipped and nicely preserved in the front blank endpapers. The one 1922 American first I located without dust jacket is priced at $287. I think this a much better and more interesting copy. I have priced this accordingly. Shipping is FREE, I will mail by Priority Mail. At this time I am offering this exclusively to U.S. buyers with U.S. address.