Maugham, however, was a lousy father and a horrid husband. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. He left school at 16 and trained to become a doctor at St Thomas' in Lambeth. Educated at the King's School, Canterbury, Heidelberg University, and King's College, London. To make the book really compelling and to provide a deeper understanding of Maugham's soul, and perhaps, in that way of all twisted souls, Hastings should have considered how to present a better understanding of the man. Short story collection by Maugham, screen adaptation by Maugham, Short story collection by Maugham, screen adaptation by Maugham, T.E.B Clarke, Arthur Macrae and, A farce in three acts; written in 1904 and originally titled, A comedy in three acts; written in 1908 and originally titled, A melodrama in four acts; written in 1899, A tragi-comedy in three acts; written in 1909, This page was last edited on 20 September 2020, at 23:43. Born 25 January 1874 in Paris. Film adaptations of his works include The Razor's Edge (1984), Up at the Villa (2000) and The Painted Veil (2006) starring Naomi Watts (left) and Edward Norton. This comprehensive biography of W. Somerset Maugham includes Brief sumaries of many of his plays, novels, and short stories, as well as a number of succinct portraits of some of his friends and lovers. But Maugham had no real vocation for medicine – he wanted to write and his duties as a trainee doctor, instead, provided him with the low-life material for his first novel, Liza of Lambeth (published 1897). An affair with Syrie Wellcome, wife of Henry Wellcome, produced a daughter, Liza, in 1915 and after Wellcome sued for divorce Maugham and Syrie married. I greatly respect the well researched and immensely detailed descriptions that Hastings presents. Since French law declared that all children born on French soil could be conscripted for military service, his father arranged for Maugham to be born at the embassy, diplomatically considered British soil. "There's no need for the writer to eat a whole sheep to be able to tell you what mutton tastes like," is one sentence I underlined (among many). His peers were writers such as Compton Mackenzie, Hugh Walpole, John Galsworthy – forgotten figures, almost – but something about Maugham and his work endured long into his dotage. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. It also analyzes reviews to verify trustworthiness. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 24, 2014. Whether it is life at the Villa or accounts of Maugham's travels, we very quickly sense the spirit of a place – Kuala Lumpur, Capri, Samoa or Los Angeles, South Carolina in the war or Mayfair in the 1920s – and their allure or tedium come off the page with tremendous colour and vividness. I still possess my 1967 Penguin paperback of Somerset Maugham's A Writer's Notebook. It is an extraordinary story that takes in two world wars, friendships with people as diverse as Charlie Chaplin and Winston Churchill, encounters with writers such as Thomas Hardy, DH Lawrence, Henry James and Virginia Woolf. [Autobiographical reminiscences. William Boyd has nothing but praise for Selina Hastings's monumental and scholarly biography of W Somerset Maugham William Boyd Sat 12 Sep 2009 19.01 EDT First published on Sat 12 Sep 2009 19.01 EDT There was a problem loading your book clubs. From the outset of his career, Maugham was aware of his limitations as a writer; he lacked imagination, he said; writing was something of a mechanical exercise. Maugham's days of relative penury were over for ever. Their father, Robert Ormond Maugham, was a lawyer who handled the legal affairs of the British Embassy in Paris. Novels include The Moon and Sixpence, about Paul Gauguin, Cakes and Ale and Of Human Bondage. He remains the writer with the most film and TV adaptations of his work – some 98 in all. I loved it and will reread it. Since reading the biography I have read several (and watched a few of the movies based on them). They divorced in 1928. Biography of W. Somerset Maugham William Somerset Maugham was born on January 25, 1874, in the British Embassy in Paris, France. While I learned a great many details about his life, and was amazed to learn of the extent of his travels and social connections to everyone of fame in his time, I gained little insight into the man himself. Lots of great pictures, too! Guided by Maugham's relentless and fanatical hatred for the wife, Syrie is portrayed by Hastings as a hysterical gold digger. Had a huge success with his play Lady Frederick in 1907 and the next year had four plays running simultaneously in London. I read this biography with total fascination. In 1903 his first play was performed, A Man of Honour at the Imperial Theatre, London. The Secret Lives of Somerset Maugham: A Biography. Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2015. 1, 2. After reading so much detail, after having learned the details of the menu of many dinners at his house, and learning to exhaustion everyone's name who visited him, I missed in the book an analytic reflection of the contradictions of his character. Like Chekhov, he turned to the theatre purely as a way of making money and very soon he hit paydirt. In 1924, he was paid $2,500 for a short story – multiply by 20 for today's approximate value. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Life at the villa duly assumed its famous reputation (interrupted only by the Second World War). Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission.
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