Maurice Paperback – International Edition, 28 July 2005

Maurice is a great read and a wonderful film too in my opinion.The many different editions of this novel and the reviews are very confusing. Be aware that the Pengin edition is NOT the edition referred to in this review: "ISBN 0233996044 is the Abinger edition - it comes with all the alterations Forster made to the novel over four decades, notes to clarify words like "pi-jaw", the Epilogue which Forster deleted from the later versions of "Maurice", and the Editor's Introduction - the best essay I have ever read about Forster and his work, which explains how and why Forster changed this novel over four decades of his life." For the edition noted in that quote we need to search out ISBN 0233996044 .The Penquin Edition has some interesting notes but does not contain the different versions of the story contained in the full Arbinger edition. Where to get that edition I have not worked out yet.

I've got school to thanks for turning me against E. M. Forster's books. A Passage to India saw me off for more than 30 years. I am glad that I have returned with Maurice.It is a book which I have always meant to read. I recall watching the 1987 film version when it was on TV - probably in the early '90s. That would have been before I had even 'come out' to myself, but even then I had the hots for Rupert Graves's Scudder.Maurice is a classic gay novel. It is a lovely romantic tale.Set in 1912, it is about the loves of three men at a time when society was straight-jacketed by tradition. The world order is decaying. The class system is creaking. World War One is on the horizon. And all the central charcter, Maurice Hall, wants is to be free and to love as comes naturally to him.It is an old fashioned world with Edwardian prose, attitudes and morals. But is is not entirely outdated. That is the sad thing. More than a century on, and some of our attitudes and morals are still outdated.Maurice wants to escape with his lover to the greenwood to live as an outlaw. In moden Britain today, we are lucky that homosexuality is respected, at least by the state if not by the church. This particular battle is nearly won.But we still have a long way to go in breaking down those class barriers. In Maurice, E. M. Forster underlines the appalling superiority felt by the upper classes over those who they consider to be the lower orders. Their Edwardian attitudes go some way to explaining the behaviour of our current Conservative-led government when it comes to dealing with benefit recipients and those on low incomes.The greenwood for some groups is still a long way off.

I had seen parts of the film back in the 1980s and 1990s but was unaware, until the new Millennium, that its basis was such an engaging read. It has been usual for the process of acknowledgement of homosexuality to include a lot of debating of self-loathing; the difficult date with a girl at the school disco or the unfulfilled fumblings of adolescents with an over-arching question of "Do I like girls?" attached. This journey into the burgeoning growth of sexuality within a young man is viewed from both a child and young adult perspective without the need to affirm that it's a choice or that it's a "straight man gone wrong" which has troubled other serious media portrayals of gay men coming to terms with their position in life. The words are emotional and rather unrestrained for its time of creation - where homosexuality was a criminal offence and, to all intents and purposes, seen as a mental disorder - which lends itself to an engaging read and a moving story of a world that hated 'the love that dare not speak its name' but how its simple tenderness and heartache is just as valid a love as any heterosexual story of emotional upheaval.

This story is so touching

I did enjoy this novel by E.M.Forster, but as the author himself admits there are some dated references within the book.This book must have been controversial certainly if it had been published when Forster wrote it,1913.However in todays age it does not see strange to read ad understand a novel like this. Forster writes very well though some of the Greek and Roman references left me a little bereft. It was sad that Forster felt that things were never going to change, and that The Wolfenden Report would not be accepted by parliament. Homosexuality was considered an abnormality as illustrated by Maurice, which seems now seems strange in the 21st century

This is one of my favourite books and has been for a number of years, I find it more encouraging every few years when I re-read it because it has all the qualities I like in writing. The book is essentially about acceptance and sensuality and even though it was written around 100 years ago, it still seems fresh and some of the issues around gender and sexuality still resonate these days, especially in the Islamic world. The writing is a little old fashioned at times but that can be forgiven because if its age and it demonstrates the real casualties of the time - the exploitation of the working classes. This makes you realise just how far we really have come in collective achievements such as health services, law and trade unionism. This is a great read - nicely broken down into smaller chapters which makes reading it on the move quite easy. I love it and will read it again in a couple of years...

okay, so i ordered it second hand and got an ex-library book. um!honestly it gives it charm tho!? its in decent condition and it looks SO GOOD.i was tempted to keep it for myself, instead of giving it to my long distance best friend..i have watched the movie and it was also good!