Maurice

An astonishingly frank and deeply autobiographical account of homosexual relationships in an era when love between men was not only stigmatised, but also illegal, E.M. Forster's Maurice is edited by P.N. Furbank with an introduction by David Leavitt in Penguin Classics. Maurice Hall is a young man who grows up confident in his privileged status and well aware of his role in society. Modest and generally conformist, he nevertheless finds himself increasingly attracted to his own sex. Through Clive, whom he encounters at Cambridge, and through Alec, the gamekeeper on Clive's country estate, Maurice gradually experiences a profound emotional and sexual awakening. A tale of passion, bravery and defiance, this intensely personal novel was completed in 1914 but remained unpublished until after Forster's death in 1970. Compellingly honest and beautifully written, it offers a powerful condemnation of the repressive attitudes of British society, and is at once a moving love story and an intimate tale of one man's erotic and political self-discovery. In his introduction, David Leavitt explores the significance of the novel in relation to Forster's own life and as a founding work of modern gay literature. This edition reproduces the Abinger text of the novel, and includes new notes, a chronology and further reading. E. M. Forster (1879-1970) was a noted English author and critic and a member of the Bloomsbury group. His first novel, Where Angels Fear To Tread appeared in 1905. The Longest Journey appeared in 1907, followed by A Room With A View (1908), based partly on the material from extended holidays in Italy with his mother. Howards End (1910) was a story that centred on an English country house and dealt with the clash between two families, one interested in art and literature, the other only in business. Maurice was revised several times during his life, and finally published posthumously in 1971. If you enjoyed Maurice , you might like Forster's A Room With a View , also available in Penguin Classics.

An astonishingly frank and deeply autobiographical account of homosexual relationships in an era when love between men was not only stigmatised, but also illegal, E.M. Forster's Maurice is edited by P.N. Furbank with an introduction by David Leavitt in Penguin Classics. Maurice Hall is a young man who grows up confident in his privileged status and well aware of his role in society. Modest and generally conformist, he nevertheless finds himself increasingly attracted to his own sex. Through Clive, whom he encounters at Cambridge, and through Alec, the gamekeeper on Clive's country estate, Maurice gradually experiences a profound emotional and sexual awakening. A tale of passion, bravery and defiance, this intensely personal novel was completed in 1914 but remained unpublished until after Forster's death in 1970. Compellingly honest and beautifully written, it offers a powerful condemnation of the repressive attitudes of British society, and is at once a moving love story and an intimate tale of one man's erotic and political self-discovery. In his introduction, David Leavitt explores the significance of the novel in relation to Forster's own life and as a founding work of modern gay literature. This edition reproduces the Abinger text of the novel, and includes new notes, a chronology and further reading. E. M. Forster (1879-1970) was a noted English author and critic and a member of the Bloomsbury group. His first novel, Where Angels Fear To Tread appeared in 1905. The Longest Journey appeared in 1907, followed by A Room With A View (1908), based partly on the material from extended holidays in Italy with his mother. Howards End (1910) was a story that centred on an English country house and dealt with the clash between two families, one interested in art and literature, the other only in business. Maurice was revised several times during his life, and finally published posthumously in 1971. If you enjoyed Maurice , you might like Forster's A Room With a View , also available in Penguin Classics.

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 into his father's firm. In a highly structured society, Maurice is a conventional young man in almost every way--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."

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 into his father's firm. In a highly structured society, Maurice is a conventional young man in almost every way--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."

This illustrated young adult edition of a bold novel is one of defiance and bravery. As beautifully crafted as it is heartwrenching, this love story transcends time and generations. People were all around them, but with eyes that had gone intensely blue he whispered, 'I love you.' From curious schoolboy to studious scholar, Maurice Hall grows with all the confidence his privileged status allows. The path to success is measured and assured, as long as he follows the rules dictated by society. But things quickly change as he finds himself increasingly attracted to his own sex. First through Clive, a fellow student he meets at Cambridge, and then through Alec, the gamekeeper on Clive's country estate, Maurice experiences a profound emotional and sexual awakening, one which his contemporaries cannot condone. Maurice is widely considered a founding work of modern gay literature. Although completed in 1914, this groundbreaking novel could not be published in Forster's lifetime. Fittingly, it acts as a piercing critique of the suffocating ideals that permeated British society at the time. Forster himself said: '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, and in this sense, Maurice and Alec still roam the greenwood.' Part of a select range of illustrated 'rite of passage reads' from Faber, which includes: The Great Gatsby , The Bell Jar , Nineteen Eighty-Four and A Room with a View .

A stunning new edition of Forster's classic queer novel, w ith a new introduction by Colm Tóibín, bestselling author of Brooklyn and Long Island 'A monument to a moment when change seemed possible' COLM TÓIBÍN 'It shows the quality of a novelist at the height of his powers' SUNDAY TIMES 'His heart leapt alive and shook him to pieces. It cried "You love and are loved."' Maurice Hall grows up in comfort and privilege near London, in a villa surrounded by pines, where all is convenience and ease. He progresses through a traditional English education, projecting an outer confidence that masks troubling questions about his unspoken desires. At Cambridge University, Maurice meets Clive, an assured older student, with whom he enjoys a close and intense relationship. Sneaking around college, climbing through windows and skipping lectures, Maurice begins to grasp a less conventional view of the nature of love. And then, on a trip to Clive's family estate, he meets Alec, the gamekeeper, and his emotional and sexual awakening reaches its height, opening up the possibility of a life that strays from the path he was raised to follow. But can Maurice overcome societal pressures, self-doubt and heartbreak to find happiness? Forster completed Maurice in 1914 but felt that it could not be published in his lifetime. It was not until 1971, the year after Forster's death, that the novel was finally published.

A stunning new edition of Forster's classic queer novel, w ith a new introduction by Colm Tóibín, bestselling author of Brooklyn and Long Island 'A monument to a moment when change seemed possible' COLM TÓIBÍN 'It shows the quality of a novelist at the height of his powers' SUNDAY TIMES 'His heart leapt alive and shook him to pieces. It cried "You love and are loved."' Maurice Hall grows up in comfort and privilege near London, in a villa surrounded by pines, where all is convenience and ease. He progresses through a traditional English education, projecting an outer confidence that masks troubling questions about his unspoken desires. At Cambridge University, Maurice meets Clive, an assured older student, with whom he enjoys a close and intense relationship. Sneaking around college, climbing through windows and skipping lectures, Maurice begins to grasp a less conventional view of the nature of love. And then, on a trip to Clive's family estate, he meets Alec, the gamekeeper, and his emotional and sexual awakening reaches its height, opening up the possibility of a life that strays from the path he was raised to follow. But can Maurice overcome societal pressures, self-doubt and heartbreak to find happiness? Forster completed Maurice in 1914 but felt that it could not be published in his lifetime. It was not until 1971, the year after Forster's death, that the novel was finally published.

This illustrated young adult edition of a bold novel is one of defiance and bravery. As beautifully crafted as it is heartwrenching, this love story transcends time and generations. People were all around them, but with eyes that had gone intensely blue he whispered, 'I love you.' From curious schoolboy to studious scholar, Maurice Hall grows with all the confidence his privileged status allows. The path to success is measured and assured, as long as he follows the rules dictated by society. But things quickly change as he finds himself increasingly attracted to his own sex. First through Clive, a fellow student he meets at Cambridge, and then through Alec, the gamekeeper on Clive's country estate, Maurice experiences a profound emotional and sexual awakening, one which his contemporaries cannot condone. Maurice is widely considered a founding work of modern gay literature. Although completed in 1914, this groundbreaking novel could not be published in Forster's lifetime. Fittingly, it acts as a piercing critique of the suffocating ideals that permeated British society at the time. Forster himself said: '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, and in this sense, Maurice and Alec still roam the greenwood.' Part of a select range of illustrated 'rite of passage reads' from Faber, which includes: The Great Gatsby , The Bell Jar , Nineteen Eighty-Four and A Room with a View .