| Title: | The Complete Short Stories of W. Somerset Maugham, Vol. I |
| Author: | | Maugham, W. Somerset (William Somerset) | | (6 of 20 for author by title) | ⇤ | | → | The Complete Short Stories of W. Somerset Maugham, Volume II | | ← | Christmas Holiday |
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| Published: | 1951 |
| Publisher: | William Heinemann Ltd |
| Tags: | collection, fiction, short stories |
| Description: | This is the first of three volumes of my collected short stories. In my early youth I wrote a number, but they are so immature that I have preferred not to reprint them. A few are in a book that has long remained out of print, a few others are scattered in various magazines. They are best forgotten. The first of the stories in this collection, Rain, was written in 1920 in Hong Kong, but I had hit upon the idea for it during a journey I took in the South Seas during the winter of 1916. The last of my stories was written in New York in 1945 from a brief note that I found by chance among my papers and which I made as far back as 1901. I do not expect ever to write another. —From the Preface [Suggest a different description.] |
| Downloads: | 20,127 |
| Pages: | 506 |
Author Bio for Maugham, W. Somerset (William Somerset)
Maugham's masterpiece is generally agreed to be Of Human Bondage, a semiautobiographical novel that deals with the life of the main character Philip Carey, who, like Maugham, was orphaned, and brought up by his pious uncle. Philip's clubfoot causes him endless self-consciousness and embarrassment, echoing Maugham's struggles with his stutter and, as his biographer Ted Morgan notes, his hom*osexuality.
Two of his later novels were based on historical people: The Moon and Sixpence is about the life of Paul Gauguin; and Cakes and Ale contains what were taken as thinly veiled and unflattering characterizations of the authors Thomas Hardy (who had died two years previously) and Hugh Walpole. Maugham himself denied any intention of doing this in a long letter to Walpole: "I certainly never intended Alroy Kear to be a portrait of you. He is made up of a dozen people and the greater part of him is myself"—yet in an introduction written for the 1950 Modern Library edition of the work, he plainly states that Walpole was the inspiration for Kear (while denying that Thomas Hardy was the inspiration for the novelist Driffield). Maugham's last major novel, The Razor's Edge (1944), was a departure for him in many ways. While much of the novel takes place in Europe, its main characters are American, not British. The protagonist is a disillusioned veteran of the First World War who abandons his wealthy friends and lifestyle, traveling to India seeking enlightenment. The story's themes of Eastern mysticism and war-weariness struck a chord with readers during the Second World War. It was adapted into a major motion picture released in 1946, then again in 1984 starring Bill Murray.
Among his short stories, some of the most memorable are those dealing with the lives of Western, mostly British, colonists in the Far East. They typically express the emotional toll the colonists bear by their isolation. "Rain", "Footprints in the Jungle", and "The Outstation" are considered especially notable. "Rain", in particular, which charts the moral disintegration of a missionary attempting to convert prostitute Sadie Thompson, has kept its reputation. It has been adapted as a play and as several films. His The Magician (1908) is based on British occultist Aleister Crowley.
Maugham was one of the most significant travel writers of the inter-war years, and can be compared with contemporaries such as Evelyn Waugh and Freya Stark. His best efforts in this line include The Gentleman in the Parlour, dealing with a journey through Burma, Siam, Cambodia and Vietnam, and On a Chinese Screen, a series of very brief vignettes that might have been sketches for stories left unwritten.--Wikipedia.
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FAQs
Maugham was a great short-story writer, but by now his stories have been collected and reassembled in so many different volumes that it's very difficult to suggest a particular title. Be sure to read stories like “Rain”, “The Outstation”, “The Ant and the Grasshopper”, “Footprints in the Jungle”.
How many short stories did Somerset Maugham write? ›
In 1951 Maugham's life's work of some 100 short stories was collected into a complete edition in three big volumes.
What is the 1915 novel by W. Somerset Maugham? ›
Of Human Bondage is a 1915 novel by W. Somerset Maugham.
What is the writing style of Maugham? ›
Maugham's plain prose style became known for its lucidity, but his reliance on clichés attracted adverse critical comment. During the First World War Maugham worked for the British Secret Service, later drawing on his experiences for stories published in the 1920s.
What is the best Somerset Maugham story? ›
The Best Of W. Somerset Maugham
- The Painted Veil. by W. ...
- The Moon and Sixpence. by W. ...
- Cakes and Ale. by W. ...
- Up at the Villa. by W. ...
- Ashenden. by W. ...
- The Magician. by W. ...
- Collected Stories (Everyman's Library) by W. ...
- Mrs Craddock (Penguin Classics) by W. Somerset Maugham, Robert Calder (Introduction)
Considered to be one of Maugham's best novels, The Moon and Sixpence (1919) uses his first-hand experience of Tahiti and recounts the life of London stockbroker Charles Strickland, (a troubled and misunderstood artist, much in the style of Gaugin), who neglects his duty for art.
What was Somerset Maugham's famous quote? ›
The love that lasts longest is the love that is never returned. We are not the same persons this year as last; nor are those we love. It is a happy chance if we, changing, continue to love a changed person.
What religion was Somerset Maugham? ›
toward the Church and religion as a whole. agnostic.
Why is Somerset Maugham famous? ›
He is most famous for four novels, Of Human Bondage (1915), The Moon and Sixpence (1919), Cakes and Ale (1930), and The Razor's Edge (1944). His plays were popular in their day and at one time four of them ran simultaneously in London. His short stories are considered among the best in English.
Who is a good traveller according to Maugham? ›
According to Maugham, a good traveler enjoys everything he finds and is amused by the new things he discovers in the culture.
William Somerset Maugham was born on January 25, 1874, in Paris, France. His father was an English lawyer who was associated with the British Embassy in France. The boy's mother died when he was 8 and his father when he was 10. He was brought up by a childless uncle who was a clergyman in Kent, England.
Did Somerset Maugham write the letter? ›
The Letter is a 1927 play by W. Somerset Maugham, dramatised from a short story that first appeared in his 1926 collection The Casuarina Tree.
Which novel of Somerset Maugham is autobiography? ›
Of Human Bondage, semiautobiographical novel by W. Somerset Maugham, published in 1915 and considered his masterwork. It is a perceptive depiction of the emotional isolation of a young man and his eventual insight into life. Born with a club foot, Philip Carey is acutely sensitive about his handicap.
Is Somerset Maugham a modernist? ›
Disaffected with society, disturbed by colonialism, and detached from the past, Maugham's oeuvre embraced those same themes as his contemporaries, yet remains conspicuously absent from most Modernist study (and anthology) because his style is not considered as abstract/experimental.
What are the characteristics of Somerset Maugham? ›
Somerset Maugham (born Jan. 25, 1874, Paris, France—died Dec. 16, 1965, Nice) was an English novelist, playwright, and short-story writer whose work is characterized by a clear unadorned style, cosmopolitan settings, and a shrewd understanding of human nature.
Where to start with Maugham? ›
W Somerset Maugham Books In Order
- Liza of Lambeth (1897)
- Mrs Craddock (1902)
- The Merry Go Round (1904)
- The Explorer (1907)
- The Magician (1908)
- Of Human Bondage (1915)
- The Moon and the Sixpence (1919)
- The Painted Veil (1925)
Kelly Brigid ♡ I definitely think you should read the book, especially if you enjoyed the movie, because I think almost everyone who's read the book and seen the movie will agree that the book is better. The movie was good (a lot of people actually didn't like it :O), but the book is AMAZING!
Is the paper palace worth the read? ›
It does deal with difficult themes, such as generational trauma, child abuse and gender roles, but not in a complex way, it felt more theatrical than realistic in some places, and some storylines felt convenient rather than necessary.
Why should I read Middlemarch? ›
From courtship and marriage to careers and livelihoods, the variety of Middlemarch's characters and conflicts gives readers a thorough view of social issues in the early nineteenth century, many of which continue to be relevant to today's society.
