W somerset maugham biography
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The Secret Lives of Somerset Maugham by Selina Hastings
I still possess my Penguin paperback of Somerset Maugham's A Writer's Notebook. Ostensibly a distillation of his diary, kept over some 50 years, it was more interesting to the aspiring novelist for the gnomic advice Maugham offered on the craft of writing. "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). I cite this for two reasons: one to give a sense of Maugham's stature and reputation, even in the late s, just a few years after his death; and, two, as a tribute to his astonishing longevity.
Maugham died aged 91 in – a few months before Evelyn Waugh – but he was born in , the year Disraeli took over as prime minister from Gladstone. He was writing his fourth novel in , the last year of Victoria's reign (some three years before Waugh was born, as it happens) and so in a very real sense his sensibilities are Victorian r
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List of works by W. Somerset Maugham
W. Somerset Maugham (&#;– ) was a British playwright, novelist and short story writer. Born in the British Embassy in Paris, where his father worked, Maugham was an orphan by the age of ten. He was raised by an uncle, who tried to persuade the youngster to become an accountant or parson; Maugham instead trained as a doctor, although he never practised professionally, as his first novel, Liza of Lambeth, was published the same year he qualified.
A year after his first novel was published Maugham began contributing to magazines and periodicals; initially these were short stories, but he also wrote opinion pieces, non-fictional and autobiographical work, and letters. Much of his non-fictional writing was published in book form, and covered a range of topics, including travel, current affairs, autobiography and belles lettres.[3] Maugham was also editor on a number of works, which often included adding a preface or introductory chap
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W. Somerset Maugham
English playwright and author (–)
William Somerset Maugham[n 2]CH (MAWM; 25 January – 16 månad )[n 1] was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German university. He became a medical lärling in London and qualified as a physician in He never practised medicine, and became a full-time writer. His first novel, Liza of Lambeth (), a study of life in the slums, attracted attention, but it was as a playwright that he first achieved national celebrity. By he had four plays running at once in the West End of London. He wrote his 32nd and gods play in , after which he abandoned the theatre and concentrated on novels and short stories.
Maugham's novels after Liza of Lambeth include Of Human Bondage (), The Moon and Sixpence (), The Painted Veil (), Cakes and Ale () and The Razor's Edge (). His short sto