I wouldn't call this a review post, mainly because I doubt I'd be able to write a suitable one. However, I couldn't just let it pass without writing something about the book that will most likely end up being one of my all time favorites.

Written in the 1910s, but not released until 1971, after the author's death, Maurice is an Edwardian story about love, class, and finding oneself. The title character is a young man who comes to understand that he is homosexual. We see him through two relationships: first with his schoolmate Clive, who unfortunately goes into the closet and breaks Maurice's heart; second, with Alec, a games keeper who works on Clive's estate.

The novel was just beautifully written. Some chapters, such as Maurice and Clive's breakup, and the cricket match, were masterpieces.

I mean, really, the themes are the same in a lot of romantic-type novels, but of course it's different in this case. The thing that struck me the most was the fact that two gay men could have a happily ever after. That's it. No consequences, no nothing. Just a beautiful, romantic ending. And that was wonderful.

If you plan on reading this, or if you've already read it, I highly suggest watching the 1987 Merchant Ivory film (psst, it's on youtube). I watched it the day after I finished the novel and it just completed the experience for me. Some scenes, such as the ending, became even more beautiful with the visual. And, if I may get superficial for a moment, it's got a very nice-looking, young Rupert Graves. That's a bonus.

A beloved college professor used this novel as his starting point for a glorious Humanities lecture on "The Unspeakable Vice of the Greeks." Except for the time I fell down the stairs of the lecture hall and dislocated my shoulder, that's pretty much the only morning I remember from my freshman year.

I love Forster's attitude toward his characters, which is similar to one a social worker might have towards his clients: he doesn't romanticize them and sees all of their faults, even emphasizing important weaknesses, but never in a critical way and ever with an eye to the characters' strengths and what's good in them, and always with such powerful, empathic -- yet uniquely, subtly distanced -- affection. He wants us to understand them, and seeks to clarify their motivations and make sense of their actions, which he does through illumination of their internal worlds. Ultimately, in doing so, he locates and describes their humanity, which reaffirms his concept of humanity in general, and so makes a certain circular sense of what he's doing.... If only people'd write psychosocials with Forster's skill! Oh, well. In any case, E. M. probably would've been a great social worker, but I'm still glad he chose writing instead.

Maurice is also worth reading if only because it's got what I personally remember as the most ridiculous ending in modern literature.

interesting story in that, whilst reading, it didnt quite impact me as strongly as i thought it would. it was only after i had put the book down, stepped away, and really thought about it, that i had become quite emotional.

the highlight is definitely maurices journey towards self-acceptance. what an amazing thing that a topic written in 1913 still applies today. we all have a way to go before we accept ourselves fully, so what a pleasure it was to experience it with maurice.

i will definitely be picking this up again after i have had a couple of days to think about it some more. i have a sneaky suspicion i will want to bump this up to 5 stars.

↠ 4 stars

This book by Forster was way ahead of its time. Written in 1913 to 1914, it was first published in 1971, a year after the author’s death. This was at his own request. During the interim he reworked parts and played with alternate endings. Understanding the history behind the work’s alterations and publication is important. Choose a version that includes the author’s thoughts on modifications, written in 1960. In addition, choose one with notes. It’s easy to miss the significance of details that pepper the lines. I appreciated the notes immensely.

The author wanted the novel to end on a high note, despite that such an ending, "made this book harder to publish. If it ended unhappily, with a lad dangling from a noose or with a suicide pact, all would be well.” These are his words! Think about these words and ask yourself what they imply.

Foster is drawing a picture of his time. He points a critical finger at society’s total lack of compassion toward or understanding of homosexuality. Is this surprising? No! Yet he shows to what extent society shoved homosexual sensibility under the mat. Alternately denied or looked at with distain, homosexuals were made to feel ashamed.

I have debated between three or four stars. I chose three. In the following I explain why:
*Notes explaining the significance of details should not be necessary. Understanding should flow naturally from the text.
*Maurice, the book’s central character, struggles to come to terms with his sexuality. We view his relationships with several partners. The relationships fall flat for different reasons. It is through these assorted relationships that Forster points a critical finger at early 20the century social standards and the church. Yet the string of partners lessens one’s involvement with each. The last and most important partner turns up too late in the novel for one to properly understand who he is and what makes him tick. One’s empathy is diluted by the succession of partners. In addition, Maurice’s last partner is of a lower social class than himself. This added dimension, thrown in at the end, diminishes the novels central focus.

I listened to a Swedish translation of the book. It was all I could get. I prefer reading a book in its original version if possible. The translation was done by Maria Ekman. The audiobook is narrated by Christer Modin. It was fine. It was good, but not exceptional. Three stars for the narration. If anything, it was the translation rather than the narration that had me questioning some of the lines.

Although the book is outstanding, considering when it was written, there is, in my humble view, room for improvement.

**********************

*Maurice 3 stars
*A Room with a View 3 stars
*A Passage to India 4 stars
*Howards End 4 stars
*Where Angels Fear to Tread 4 stars
*The Longest Journey 4 stars

I had this book on hold at the library for months and months, and was already very charmed with the novel prior to reading it. So when I finally read it I was very glad it was elegant in prose, character study, and conversation.

I was constantly writing down quotes from the novel as to not forget them, and once when I couldn't find paper I just wrote on my bookmark; there were so many charming phrases and ideas that I instantly felt I'd have to read it again and even own a copy to open up to read anytime I desired.

It was a very interesting book, one that was sorrowful at times but ultimately E.M. Forster refused to subscribe to the trope that has become commonly known as 'Bury Your Gays' and ended with notes of hope and joy. I must admit I felt it lacked in making the reader fall in absolute love with the character's as I'd hoped it would (although I was rather fond of Clive and felt sorry for the sad fate of his rushed marriage that most likely stemmed from his internalized homophobia) Despite this it most definitely has proven to be a (queer) classic, and I cannot wait to watch the film.

i too am an unspeakable of the oscar wilde sort

"A happy ending was imperative. I shouldn't have bothered to write otherwise. I was determined that, in fiction anyway, two men should fall in love and remain in it for the ever and ever that fiction allows." - E M Forster.

Edward Morgan Forster's author note at the end of this book was heartbreaking to me. As a man attracted to men, he suppressed his desires for years, until finally setting himself free, but his outlook for the future acceptance of same-sex love seemed bleak. I wish he could have known that, although homophobia is still rife, with laws, ignorance and murders still present, that a lot of the world has embraced us (we can get married now, Morgan), and also embraced him and 'Maurice', the novel he only allowed to be published upon his death.

Spoilers below!

I was so happy while reading the love affair between Maurice and Clive. So when Clive had a sudden change of heart, it threw me completely. His sudden hatred of his desires and of Maurice sickened me. I was furious and had to stop myself from chucking the book across the room. I knew that if I didn't finish the book then and there, I wouldn't pick it up again, so I kept on reading until the early hours. I'm glad I did.

It seemed to me that Clive hadn't suddenly 'converted' after his illness, but had succumbed to the fear of not fitting in with society, which only became clear on the very last page, and I ended up pitying him.

Forster writes so poignantly about Maurice's struggle with mental health. It was heartbreaking to read of his wanting to be 'normal', and undoing conversion therapy, after being turned away by people he thought he could confide in. But I'm glad that his meeting with Alec, although a tad too rushed for me, saved him from self-sabotage, even in the time he lived.

Although rushed a tad towards the end (imo), I truly think of Maurice as a masterpiece.

Un romanzo di formazione, con la storia d'amore tra Maurice e il suo compagno di università, Clive Durham, e tutti i tormenti che un amore omosessuale poteva portare a una persona nell'Inghilterra della prima metà del XX secolo. Una narrazione naturale, eppure motivo di segretezza per Forster, che chiese che questo romanzo venisse pubblicato postumo, a causa dell'argomento trattato. Un romanzo che ho trovato bellissimo, e che conferma Forster come uno dei miei scrittori preferiti.

Oh, the mellifluous, soothing voice of Forster! I don’t know what it is, but something just kicks into place in my innermost recesses when I read his best novels. Stephen King has said that it’s the writers we read when we are young who impact us the most, perhaps in ways we don’t always realize. That may be why it’s more than just a reading experience to me when I read Forster; I feel that I meet not only my younger self but my true self when I read him.

Maurice is the novel Forster wrote some 55 years before it was published because the time he lived in was one of hypocrisy and intolerance. Indeed, Maurice, the main character, refers to himself a couple of times as one of the unmentionable Oscar Wilde types, and we know what happened to Oscar Wilde only a decade or so previously. Forster had a view which there was no room for, cf. the title of another of his novels, and only a few of his closest friends saw the novel in his own lifetime.

The novel is about Maurice’s seemingly impossible search for happiness in a world where homosexuality is illegal and in an England which is still marred by a rigid view of class distinctions. It is a brave attempt to paint a possible utopia which, sadly, Forster himself never lived to see, and it is a touching portrait of two people’s ultimate refusal to bow to the expectations of the times, as well as one man’s claim to have been able to change his sexuality.

Like Zadie Smith, I can see that Forster sometimes borders on the mawkish and the sentimental, but like Smith, I really don’t care. His works remind me that it is possible to write feelingly and touchingly about human relations within the relatively narrow confines of literary fiction. All of Forster’s works are about his humanistic vision, and wish, that we ‘only connect’. I am unapologetic in my love of Forster, and I thoroughly enjoyed this novel.

What a quite beautiful, succinct, and fairly brilliant book this is; well worth reading.

I only wonder if it mightn't have been better with a bit more Scudder. The other characters are interesting in their ways, but Scudder shines through; and, being the ultimate fulcrum of the story, imagine if Forster had given him the full range of development given certain characters in 'Howards End', for instance. As it is, we have an understanding with Scudder, have a picture of him, his terms, his personhood, but we do not understand him, do not inhabit his life. The book was certainly short enough - why not extend the last third into something a bit more?

But ignore my worrying. The book is very good. If youthful dalliances are not your taste, you probably won't get on with it.

Moving, important, and as relevant as ever, given that Americans’ acceptance of same-sex relations just declined for the first time in many years (2023 Gallup Poll) and that anti-LGBTQ polices are proliferating across the country.

“It comes to this then: there always have been people like me and always will be, and generally they have been persecuted.” (p. 211)

This novel, which is set in about 1912, follows the life of Maurice Hall. At the start of the novel, Maurice is 14 years old; He is gay, he is bewildered, and he is alone:

“I’ve been like this ever since I can remember without knowing why. What is it? Am I diseased? If I am, I want to be cured, I can’t put up with the loneliness any more.” (p. 159)

E.M. Forster shows what it was like to be gay and come of age during a time when everyone—teachers, trusted doctors, and family members—told young men that “the crown of life” was “to love a noble woman” (pp. 14-15) and when being gay was unspeakable and punishable.

“Now listen to me, Maurice, never let that evil hallucination that temptation from the devil, occur to you again.” (p. 159)

“If known as he was, he would be hounded out of the world.” (p. 30)

The story takes us with Maurice to Cambridge, where he has his first real relationship. It is with another young man who he meets in college—a classical scholar who has felt damned his entire life because of his sexuality. One of the most beautiful moments in the novel happens when one of them falls sick and becomes undignified, and the other cares for his sick lover with devotion.

“I’d rather chuck the office and look after you myself, and thought you’d rather.” (p. 107)

At college, Maurice becomes a man, not in the stereotypical way (i.e., by marrying a woman), but by being honest with himself:

“He would not—and this was the test—pretend to care about women when the only sex that attracted him was his own.” (p. 62).

The story sticks with Maurice after college and after the end of his first relationship, and asks: will he be lonely forever or can he find love? What kind of sacrifices might love require, given the time period?

Another memorable quote:

“Science is better than sympathy, if only it is science.” (p. 212).

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