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Maurice

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Maurice

By: E. M. Forster
Narrated by: Ben Whishaw
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About this listen

Maurice by E.M. Forster is the story of a young man struggling with his sexuality at the beginning of the 20th century.

Written between 1913 and 1914, it was published over 50 years later, the author believing that due to public and legal attitudes to homosexuality, to publish it in his lifetime would signal an end to his career.

Maurice is now considered to be one of the most groundbreaking and significant novels of the LGBT+ canon, and in this brand-new recording Ben Whishaw (Mary Poppins Returns, Paddington, A Very English Scandal) gives an emotive and mesmerising performance.

Photo Credit: Tomo Brejc

©1971 E. M. Forster (P)2020 Audible, Ltd Classics Literature & Fiction Heartfelt Inspiring

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Everything about this audiobook is absolutely perfect. Maurice is a beautiful story and Ben Whishaw delivers it better than anybody else could, not only because of subject matter but also because his voice is in fact nectar for the ears. I hope Audible get him to narrate more!

The most wonderful audiobook

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Wonderful, painful, beautiful - one of my all time favourite novels. Ben Whishaw’s reading is beyond perfect.

Sublime

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How can this masterpiece be written in 1913!? Amazing read (and performance) that is so much ahead of its time and still reads extremely fresh

Braveness at its best

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I don't usually read books of this age because I find them tedious but this was an eye-opener. The love affair between Maurice and Clive was was not consomated in the general sense but it was still passionate. My sympathies lay with Maurice only because he was so sorely disappointed. The initial phase of the tryst with Alec was lovely until the supposed blackmail but I was overjoyed when they went off together into the sunset. Exceptional story and poignantly read by the narrator. 10 out of 10, I need to find more in a similar vein.

exceptional story-telling.

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I’ve known of Maurice for some 30+ years but never got around to reading it. I’m so glad, because I’ve just enjoyed the supreme experience of Ben Wishaw reading to me every night as I drop off to sleep. Not that I did fall asleep. I set my timer for 30 minutes and heard every word of my nightly segment.

The story is so unusual because as Forster himself says in the afterword, if he’d chosen to kill the two men off or had a suicide pact between them, then he might have had this published many years sooner. He chose a different path and gave his two men a happy ending.

Forster insisted that the book remained unpublished until after his death; this despite the Wolfenden Report in 1957. A published work from such a respected author, such as Maurice may well have ‘persuaded’ Parliament to change the Victorian law that criminalised homosexuality much earlier than it did in 1967.

The story is both genteel and gentle, but there’s always the threat of exposure and potential ruin. The nearest the reader/listener gets to anything too exciting (or ‘pornographic’ as Forster puts it) is the two late characters waking-up entangled in each other’s limbs.

Ben Wishaw is completely sympathetic in his interpretation of the text. His voice is always warm, his pronunciation perfect, and he lets the story do all the heavy lifting. There are times when you really want to cry out “Just stop it, Maurice!” At the same time you realise that these are feelings and situations still experienced today by so many people today.

Wishaw has a lovely voice to listen to and his pacing is perfect.

This is a ‘must listen’ and I urge you to add this to your library.

Wishaw and Forster, both in 5* form

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Beautifully read. The story captures the shifting inner landscape of the main characters with the clarity that only a great writer can produce.

Sensitive and thoughtful

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We are all born into this world and we all belong in this world, and we should all have a chance to live our lives in a way that is true to who we are and what makes us happy. It's sad that there has been so many rules and laws, prejudices and non acceptance over the years. By people who are somewhat uneducated, small minded and are not willing to accept or understand. Nature is a wonderful thing and it's amazing what it creates. Not everything is black and white, there are colours in between and all of this is perfectly natural. A beautiful story, as the author says at the end a little dated over the years. But the message is still so relevant today, not just for homosexulality but how we should not be so judgemental and prejudice, we should learn and understand. Beautifully read by Ben Wishaw, and I will definitely be reading more by E.M Forster, Howards End next I think!

A Beautiful Story

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Very much of its time - but an excellent insight into the prejudiced mindset then - as well as the casual misunderstandings.

Classic

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Of it's time but even in my lifetime it has caused hardship and sadness a father who wanted all gay people locked up in an asylum and the key thrown away so one lived in fear. In the time of this story you had class and snobbery to put up with

A sad story of it's time. well written and narrat

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Who could imagine anyone reading ‘Maurice’ better than Ben Whishaw? Not I. Not to be missed!

A superb reading of an important book

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