Plot summary

England, early 1900s. Margaret Schlegel (Dame Emma Thompson) befriends Ruth Wilcox (Vanessa Redgrave), the sickly wife of Henry Wilcox (Sir Anthony Hopkins), a man of significant wealth. On her deathbed, Ruth bequests her house, Howards End, to Margaret, but this is deemed non-binding by her family, and Margaret doesn't hear of the inheritance. Meanwhile, Margaret's sister Helen (Helena Bonham Carter) has taken a philanthropic interest in Leonard Bast (Samuel West), a poor, working class man. When Henry Wilcox and Margaret get engaged, Helen sees her chance to help out Leonard.—grantss