Alternative Title: William Somerset Maugham W. Somerset Maugham, in full William Somerset Maugham, (born Jan. 25, 1874,, France—died Dec.

16, 1965, Nice), English novelist, playwright, and short-story writer whose work is characterized by a clear unadorned style, settings, and a shrewd understanding of. Maugham was orphaned at the age of 10; he was brought up by an uncle and educated at King’s School, Canterbury. After a year at, he entered St.

Mar 18, 2014 - PDF W. SOMERSET MAUGHAM (1874–1965) was one of the most prolific. Short stories typically was published in a British or American peri. William Somerset Maugham, CH (/ m ɔː m / MAWM; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965), better known as W. Somerset Maugham, was a British playwright, novelist and short story writer. He was among the most popular writers of his era and reputedly the highest-paid author during the 1930s.

Thomas’ medical school, London, and qualified as a doctor in 1897. He drew upon his experiences as an obstetrician in his first, Liza of Lambeth (1897), and its success, though small, encouraged him to abandon medicine. He traveled in Spain and Italy and in 1908 achieved a theatrical triumph—four plays running in London at once—that brought him financial security. During he worked as a secret agent.

After the war he resumed his interrupted travels and, in 1928, bought a villa on Cape Ferrat in the south of, which became his permanent home. His reputation as a novelist rests primarily on four books: (1915), a semi-autobiographical account of a young medical student’s painful progress toward maturity; (1919), an account of an unconventional artist, suggested by the life of Paul Gauguin; (1930), the story of a famous novelist, which is thought to contain of and Hugh Walpole; and (1944), the story of a young American war veteran’s quest for a satisfying way of life. Maugham’s plays, mainly Edwardian social comedies, soon became dated, but his short stories have increased in popularity. Many portray the conflict of Europeans in alien surroundings that provoke strong emotions, and Maugham’s skill in handling plot, in the manner of, is distinguished by economy and suspense. In The Summing Up (1938) and A Writer’s Notebook (1949) Maugham explains his philosophy of life as a resigned atheism and a certain about the extent of man’s innate goodness and intelligence; it is this that gives his work its astringent.

About Maugham: Collected Short Stories This third volume of Maugham’s stories, introduced and selected by the author himself, contains the celebrated series about Ashenden, a secret service agent in WWI. Based on Maugham’s own experiences with the British Intelligence service in Switzerland, the stories are vignettes in which he dramatizes both the romance and absurdity of espionage as well as its ruthlessness and brutality. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Shogun 2 total war fall of the samurai crack fix pirate bays. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators. About Maugham: Collected Short Stories This final classic collection reveals Somerset Maugham’s unique talent for exposing and exploring the bitter realities of human relationships in tales of love, infidelity, passion and prejudice. The stories range from “The Lotus Eater” where a man envisions a life of bliss in the Mediterranean, to the astringent tales of “The Outstation” and “The Back of Beyond” in Malaya and South East Asia.