Maurice is the story of Maurice Hall and his trials as a gay man in early 20th Century England, as only E.M. Forster, one of the most exquisite writers of all time, could tell it. The story follows Maurice through his boyhood and into university, where he meets fellow student Clive Durham, and the two falls in love. At a time when homosexuality was a crime, punishable by imprisonment, their affair becomes fraught with very real fears of persecution--as well as loss of property, status, and reputation. Maurice is a romantic and wants to keep Clive at all costs. Clive decides he will marry a woman to keep the peace. But Maurice does find love in Alec Scudder, a workman on Clive’s property, and somehow the story ends happily.
But the real story of Maurice lies within its making—and its time. By the time E.M. Forster first wrote Maurice (1913 – 1914), he was openly gay to his friends, though not to his public. It’s believed that the relationship between Maurice and Alec Scudder was inspired by early-20th Century gay activist Edward Carpenter and his “lower class” lover. At the time, you didn’t associate outside your class—never mind fall in love with someone of the same sex. In fact, the story that we read now isn’t the original ending—originally Maurice ditched his stockbroking job to run away with Alec to become a laborer. But by the time the novel was published in 1971, a year after its author had died, we were left with a more hopeful ending.
Merchant Ivory produced a subtly stunning adaptation of the novel in 1987, at a time when everyone involved was still so young and vibrant. James Wilby gives a beautiful performance as our title character, which High Grant plays love interest Clive Durham. Rupert Graves is Alec Studder, Ben Kingsley is the doctor who tries to hypnotize the homosexuality out of Maurice—unsuccessfully—eventually advising him to go to another country where his true self would be accepted. Helena Bonham Carter makes a cameo at a cricket match, appearing two years after her incredible performance at Lucy Honeychurch in A Room with a View.
If you’ve read Maurice in school, or when you were young, read it again. It’s one of the books that become richer as your worldview grows wider. Not because it’s a “gay book”—it’s actually not. It’s a beautiful book about human nature, self-discovery, and, of course, love that defied labels, genre, and the test of time.
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The Crush Letter
The Crush Letter is a weekly newsletter curated by Dish Stanley on everything love & connection - friendship, romance, self-love, sex. If you’d like to take a look at some of our best stories go to Read Us. Want the Dish?
