Maurice (written in 1913–1914, published 1971) by E.M. Forster
Sappho: A New Translation of the Complete Works (circa 600 BCE) by Sappho
Voting ended onNov 8, 2025
Book summaries and submitted endorsements below:
Maurice (written in 1913–1914, published 1971) by E.M. Forster
Endorsement from submitter #1: "Written in 1913/14, revised in 1932 and 1952-1960. Story is about a homosexual man called Maurice and it follows him through his life in 20th century England. Due to its happy ending and the views on homosexuality at the time of writing the book couldn't be published. It was published a year after after Forster's death in 1970, and a movie adaptation released in 1987."
Endorsement from submitter #2: "Has a movie!"
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 on into his father's firm, Hill and Hall, Stock Brokers. In a highly structured society, Maurice is a conventional young man in almost every way, "stepping into the niche that England had prepared for him"; except that he 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."
Sappho: A New Translation of the Complete Works (written circa 600 BCE) by Sappho, translated by Diane J. Rayor
Sappho, the earliest and most famous Greek woman poet, sang her songs around 600 BCE on the island of Lesbos. Of what survives from the approximately nine papyrus scrolls collected in antiquity, all is translated here: substantial poems and fragments, including three poems discovered in the last two decades. The power of Sappho's poetry ‒ her direct style, rich imagery, and passion ‒ is apparent even in these remnants. Diane Rayor's translations of Greek poetry are graceful, modern in diction yet faithful to the originals. Sappho's voice is heard in these poems about love, friendship, rivalry, and family. In the introduction and notes, André Lardinois plausibly reconstructs Sappho's life and work, the performance of her songs, and how these fragments survived. This second edition incorporates thirty-two more fragments primarily based on Camillo Neri's 2021 Greek edition and revisions of over seventy fragments.
The story of Hades and Persephone, frequently retold and referenced, became a motif for marrying death... In addition, wedding and funeral rites, in which women played a crucial role, had many similarities. The bride and corpse were washed, dressed, anointed, and either veiled (bride) or shrouded (corpse). Both journeyed to a new home, led by a procession of family and friends carrying torches, with song and dance, blessings, gifts, and a feast. Antigone makes those connections explicit in marrying Antigone to death in her last scene instead of to Kreon's son, her betrothed.
Diane J. Rayor, excerpt from the “Introduction” to Antigone
Come to me from Krete to this holy temple,
here to your sweet apple grove,
altars smoking with
frankincense.
Cold water ripples through apple branches,
the whole place shadowed in roses,
from the murmuring leaves
deep sleep descends.
Where horses graze, the meadow blooms
spring flowers, the winds
breathe softly.
Here, Aphrodite, after gathering ...
pour into golden cups nectar
lavishly mingled
with joys.
SAPPHO FRAGMENT 130 TRANSLATIONS COMPILATION: 1) Original / 2) Josephine Balmer / 3) Jim Powell / 4) Julia Dubnoff / 5) A.S. Kline / 6) Andrew M. Miller / 7) Reddit Commenter / 8) Gillian Spraggs / 9) Diane J. Rayor / 10) Anne Carson
