W. Somerset Maugham
The Moon and Sixpence is a fictional novel heavily influenced by the life of French painter Paul Gauguin. The novel is told first-person, dipping episodically into the mind of the artist. Charles Strickland is an English stock broker, who leaves everything behind him in his middle age to live in defiant squalor in Paris as an artist. His genius is eventually recognized by a Dutch painter.
Immerse yourself in the mystery and intrigue of medieval Italy in this engrossing novel from W. Somerset Maugham, the author of such timeless classics as Of Human Bondage and The Razor's Edge. Though the action of the narrative recounts the way that Filippo Bandolini came to be recognized as a saint, the ups and downs of the protagonist's life clearly illustrate that the path to righteousness is not always an easy one.
3) Orientations
This collection of short stories is sure to please fans of the eminently talented British author W. Somerset Maugham. With details drawn from Maugham's first extended period of living abroad, the stories offer a unique glimpse into the early stages of the author's artistic development.
Looking for a play that combines romance, intrigue, and profound insight into the human condition? Fans of top-notch dramatic writing will appreciate W. Somerset Maugham's Caesar's Wife, which explores an unusual love triangle between a distinguished, older dignitary, his personal secretary, and his much-younger wife.
Maugham wrote The Magician after meeting the famous magician and occultist Aleister Crowly in Paris. He caricatures Crowly as the protagonist Oliver Haddo, a magician who is attempting to create life. Crowly later accused Maugham of plagiarism and Maugham added the foreword A Fragment of Autobiography, which is included in this edition.
7) Explorer
This novel from the classic era of colonialist literature is sure to intrigue readers interested in nineteenth and early twentieth century fiction. Although some of the imperialist attitudes evinced by the protagonist are likely to clash with the sensibilities of modern audiences, the book accurately documents the spirit and foibles of the era.
Liza of Lambeth (1897) narrates Liza's last four months alive. She lives in a working-class area of London, and as the youngest of thirteen siblings she is left to look after their incompetent mother. She rejects a local suitor, but finds herself attracted to a mysterious stranger on a site-seeing trip. The novel gives insight into working-class London at the turn of the century.
9) The Hero
Many war heroes return from battle to a world that has changed dramatically. In the case of James Parsons, the protagonist of W. Somerset Maugham's The Hero, his family and hometown have remained exactly as they were before he left to serve his country abroad—it is his own outlook and values that have shifted. Will he be able to settle back into his old life and regain the happiness that was once his? Read The Hero to find out.
...10) The painted veil
The...
11) Of human bondage
A nine year old boy's mother dies shortly after the death of his father. He is sent to live with his aunt and uncle in a small East-Anglian village, where his uncle is vicar. This uncle holds the boy's significant inheritance for him until he comes of age, giving him unlimited power over the boy.
The novel is considered a masterpiece, and is also highly autobiographical, though Maugham claimed: "This is a novel, not an autobiography, though much
...As one of the most abidingly popular literary figures of the twentieth century, W. Somerset Maugham's sphere of influence far exceeded the realm of the stage, for which most of his early works were written. The Land of Promise is D. Torbett's novelization of Maugham's play of the same name, which served as the basis for several versions that were produced for both stage and screen.