"Sackville imbues this character-driven historical drama with warmth, comfort, and a sense of optimism, especially during the story's darkest moments." —AudioFile Magazine William di Canzio’s Alec, inspired by Maurice, E. M. Forster’s secret novel of a happy same-sex love affair, tells the story of Alec Scudder, the gamekeeper Maurice Hall falls in love with in Forster’s classic, published only after the author's death. Di Canzio follows their story past the end of Maurice to the front lines of battle in World War I and beyond. Forster, who tried to write an epilogue about the future of his characters, was stymied by the radical change that the Great War brought to their world. With the hindsight of a century, di Canzio imagines a future for them and a past for Alec—a young villager possessed of remarkable passion and self-knowledge. Alec continues Forster’s project of telling stories that are part of “a great unrecorded history.” Di Canzio’s debut novel is a love story of epic proportions, at once classic and boldly new. A Macmillan Audio production from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
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“John Sackville’s able narration brings fullness to Alec’s character…Sackville imbues this character-driven historical drama with warmth, comfort, and a sense of optimism, especially during the story’s darkest moments…[A] deeply satisfying production.”
— AudioFile
“There’s a sweeping romantic vision here that’s as old-fashioned as it is refreshingly modern.”
— New York Times Book Review“The new novel successfully captures the spirit of Forster’s original…The love story itself remains timeless, and its seamless reimagining is an altogether memorable accomplishment. One imagines Forster would be pleased.”
— Booklist (starred review)“Di Canzio liberally quotes dialogue from Forster’s novel for dozens of pages, creating a satisfying blend of fan fiction and intertextuality. The romance and the wartime scenes are particularly well rendered.”
— Publishers WeeklyBe the first to write a review about this audiobook!
William di Canzio is an author and playwright whose plays—including the award-winning Dooley and Johnny Has Gone for a Soldier—have been staged in New York, Los Angeles, San Diego, and Philadelphia; at Yale University and the O’Neill Theater Center; and at the National Constitution Center. He has taught literature and writing at Smith College, Haverford College, and Yale University. Since 2013, he has taught in the Pennoni Honors College of Drexel University.
John Sackville is an English actor and voice artist. He studied at St. Andrews University and the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art. He has since acted on stage and on camera and has narrated a number of audiobooks, computer games, documentaries, and commercials.