The various locales represented in Howards End are related to the theme of inheritance and which of England's landscapescountryside, city, or suburbswill claim the future. During the Edwardian era, a great migration from the countryside to the city transpired, mainly because England was shifting from an agrarian nation to an industrialized nation. London, in particular, was growing at an alarming rate, and a great deal of rebuilding and restructuring of the city occurred.