Maurice

Maurice

E. M. Forster, 1879-1970

Book - 1993

"The work of an exceptional artist working close to the peak of his powers."-Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, New York Times Set in the elegant Edwardian world of Cambridge undergraduate life, this story by a master novelist introduces us to Maurice Hall when he is fourteen. We follow him through public school and Cambridge, and on into his father's firm, Hill and Hall, Stock Brokers. In a highly structured society, Maurice is a conventional young man in almost every way, "stepping into the niche that England had prepared for him": except that his is homosexual. Written during 1913 and 1914, immediately after Howards End, and not published until 1971, Maurice was ahead of its time in its theme and in its affirmation that ...love between men can be happy. "Happiness," Forster wrote, "is its keynote...In Maurice I tried to create a character who was completely unlike myself or what I supposed myself to be: someone handsome, healthy, bodily attractive, mentally torpid, not a bad businessman and rather a snob. Into this mixture I dropped an ingredient that puzzles him, wakes him up, torments him and finally saves him." Written during 1913 and 1914, Maurice deals with the then unmentionable subject of homosexuality. More unusual, it concerns a relationship that ends happily.

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Location Call Number   Status
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Subjects
University of Cambridge > Fiction.
Gay men > Fiction.
Homosexuality > Great Britain > Fiction.
Historical fiction.
England > Fiction.
Published
New York : W.W. Norton & Co 1993.
Language
English
Main Author
E. M. Forster, 1879-1970 (-)
Item Description
"A novel."
Physical Description
256 p. ; 21 cm
ISBN
9780393310320
Contents unavailable.
Review by Library Journal Review

Forster's influential novel of homosexual yearnings (first published in 1971) is splendidly narrated by British actor Peter Firth in this fine production. Maurice Hall is a rather typical member of the British upper middle class: racist, classist, ignorant, and proud. He attends university where he meets Clive Dunham, and they begin a passionate, albeit chaste, affair. After Clive has a bout of influenza, he loses all feelings for Maurice and decides to marry and live a conventional lifestyle. Maurice is devastated. He eventually meets and begins a relationship with Clive's gamekeeper Alec Scudder, which alternates among blackmail, denial, and, finally, love. Firth is superb at voicing Maurice with all his faults and his immense bravery at the end. Firth makes Maurice completely relatable and sympathetic despite his flaws. He portrays Clive's lack of depth and his upper-class family's shallow politeness in ever-so-subtle ways. VERDICT Although this story is not one of Forster's finest, listeners will be drawn in thanks to the narration that brings every character to life in the most thrilling way. Highly recommended.-B. -Allison Gray, Santa Barbara P.L. Syst., Goleta, CA (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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