[188], In The Summing Up (1938), Maugham wrote of his non-dramatic work, "I have no illusions about my literary position. His stories the first in the genre of spy fiction continued by Ian Fleming, John le Carr and many others[169] are based so closely on Maugham's experiences that it was not until ten years after the war ended that the security services permitted their publication. He qualified as a doctor in 1897, but pursued his passion for writing following the publication of his . What you give an audience is all your own; the rest of us have to content ourselves with at the best an approximation of what we see in the minds eye. [29] The Westminster Gazette praised the writing but deplored the subject matter,[30] and The Times also conceded the author's skill "Mr Maugham seems to aspire, and not unsuccessfully, to be the Zola of the New Cut" but thought him "capable of better things [than] this singularly unpleasant novel". [130] H.E.Bates, praising many of Maugham's attributes as a writer, objected to his frequent reliance on clichd phrases,[131] and George Lyttelton commented that Maugham "purchases a beautiful lucidity at the cost of numberless clichs", but rated the lucidity second only to that of Shaw. "[33], Before the publication of his next novel, The Making of a Saint (1898), Maugham travelled to Spain. In The Spectator the critic J. D. Scott wrote of "The Maugham Effect": "This quality is one of force, of swiftness, of the dramatic leap". He traveled in Spain and Italy and in 1908 achieved a theatrical triumphfour plays running in London at oncethat brought him financial security. [13] Two and a half years after his mother's death his father died, and Maugham was sent to England to live with his paternal uncle Henry MacDonald Maugham, the vicar of Whitstable in Kent. [38] He had written it four years earlier,[39] but numerous managements turned it down until Otho Stuart accepted it and cast the popular Ethel Irving in the title role. He returned to Britain and spent three months in a sanatorium in Scotland. [5] The Painted Veil is a story of marital strife and adultery against the background of a cholera epidemic in Hong Kong. [187] Maugham outsold, and outlived, contemporaries such as James Joyce, Virginia Woolf and D. H. Lawrence, but, in Holden's view, "he could not match them in terms of stylistic innovation or thematic complexity". Alternate titles: William Somerset Maugham. [118] During a visit in 1954 he was invested as a Companion of Honour (CH) by the Queen at a private audience in Buckingham Palace. [184], Maugham was appointed Companion of Honour in 1954, on the recommendation of the British prime minister, Winston Churchill,[119] and six years later along with Churchill he was one of the first five writers to be made a Companion of Literature. After the war he resumed his interrupted travels and, in 1928, bought a villa on Cape Ferrat in the south of France, which became his permanent home. In a 2004 biography of Maugham, Jeffrey Meyers comments, "His stammer, a psychological and physical handicap, and his gradual awareness of his homosexuality made him furtive and secretive". This was Maugham's longest-running original play, but a dramatisation of his short story. [146] In London, the National Theatre has presented two Maugham plays since its inception in 1963: Home and Beauty in 1968 and For Services Rendered in 1979. [113], Before returning to the south of France after the war, Maugham travelled to England and lived in London until the end of 1946. The Razor's Edge by W Somerset Maugham (Bill Murray Cover) (Paperback, Fiction) 1984. [20] He took part in the adaptation for the cinema of some of his short stories, Quartet (1948), Trio (1950) and Encore (1951), in all of which he appeared, contributing on-screen introductions. By Jeffrey Meyers. Her concentration on her work briefly lessened the domestic tensions at the couple's house when Maugham was in residence. Like Of Human Bondage it has a strong female character at its centre, but the two are polar opposites: the malign Mildred in the earlier novel contrasts with the lovable, and much loved, Rosie in Cakes and Ale. [143] When Maugham's The Circle was revived in the US in 2011, the reviewer in The New York Times wrote that the play had been criticised "for not having anything substantial to say about love, marriage or infidelity. "[194] In a 2016 survey Don Adams remarks, "The gist of the criticism of Maugham's fiction, that it lacks psychological and emotional profundity, is remarkably consistent throughout the decades."[195]. [54], Maugham proofread Of Human Bondage at Malo-les-Bains, near Dunkirk, during a lull in his ambulance duties. [178], Radio and television adaptations have, in general, been more faithful to Maugham's original stories. [5] Maugham's father, Robert Ormond Maugham (18231884), was a prosperous solicitor, based in Paris;[6] his wife, Edith Mary, ne Snell, lived most of her life in France, where all the couple's children were born. Maugham's novels after Liza of Lambeth include Of Human Bondage (1915), The Moon and Sixpence (1919), The Painted Veil (1925), Cakes and Ale (1930) and The Razor's Edge (1944). It was an amusing book to write. Connon writes, "He was seen by some as a near saint and by others, particularly the Maugham family, as a villain";[5] Hastings labels him "a podgy Iago constantly briefing against [Syrie and Liza]", and quotes Alan Pryce-Jones's summary: "an intriguer, a schemer with a keen eye to his own advantage, a troublemaker". Download Pdf. What are synonyms for Somerset Maugham? [56] The tide of opinion was turned by the influential American novelist and critic Theodore Dreiser, who called Maugham a great artist and the book a work of genius, of the utmost importance, comparable to a Beethoven symphony. [5] Maugham wrote his first book while in Heidelberg, a biography of the composer Giacomo Meyerbeer, but it was not accepted for publication and the author destroyed the manuscript. Maugham further damaged his own reputation by denying that another character, Alroy Kear a superficial novelist of more pushy ambition than literary talent was a caricature of Hugh Walpole. During World War I he worked as a secret agent. William Somerset Maugham Theatre I THE door opened and Michael Gosselyn looked up. His lifestyle was modest: he felt that despite his considerable wealth he should not live luxuriously while Britain was enduring wartime privations. As a result, they undergo many trials and change as a result or they don't, if it's a tragedy. William Somerset Maugham (25 January 1874- 16 December 1965) was an English novelist, short story writer and playwright. The play was first presented in New York in 1917, running for 112 performances. Maugham's British and American publishers issued and reissued various, sometimes overlapping, permutations during his lifetime and subsequently. Two days later his ashes were interred in the grounds of The King's School, Canterbury, beside the wall of the Maugham Library, which he had endowed in 1961. [136] Among his longest-running comedies were Lady Frederick (1907), Jack Straw (1908), Our Betters (1923)[n 15] and The Constant Wife (1926), which ran in the West End or on Broadway for 422, 321, 548 and 295 performances respectively. [119] He was widely understood in literary circles to have turned down a knighthood and to have hankered after the more prestigious and exclusive British honour, the Order of Merit, saying to friends that the CH "means 'Well done, but'". This is a social-psychological novel that reveals the problem of relations between men and women in bourgeois society, depicts the psychological portraits of characters, and describes their feelings, emotions and thoughts as well. [77] When in Britain, Maugham lived with his wife at their house in Marylebone, but the couple were temperamentally incompatible, and their relationship grew increasingly fractious. Appearing in popular magazines such as Nash's, Collier's, Hearst's International, The Smart Set, and Cosmopolitan, his stories William Somerset Maugham (1874-1965), English playwright and author wrote Of Human Bondage (1915); He did not know how wide a country, arid and precipitous, must be crossed before the traveller through life comes to an acceptance of reality. Maugham considered himself a better writer than. [34] He based himself in Seville, where he grew a moustache, smoked cigars, took lessons in the guitar,[34] and developed a passion for "a young thing with green eyes and a gay smile"[35] (gender carefully unspecified, as Hastings comments). angol regnyr, elbeszl s drmar; munkit a vilgos stlus, a vltozatos helysznek s az emberi termszet alapos ismerete jellemzi. Maugham based his characters upon people whom he had known or whose lives he had somehow come to know; their actions are presented with consummate realism. Somerset Maugham ? "Hulloa! He was among the most popular writers of his era and reputedly the highest-paid author during the 1930s. [46] Lifelong, Maugham was highly reticent about homosexual encounters, but it was thought by at least two of his lovers that at this period in his life he had recourse to young male prostitutes. [73] He saw little of Haxton, who undertook war work in Washington DC. He did not wish to follow his brothers to Cambridge University,[23] and his stammer precluded a career in the church or the law even if either had attracted him. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/W-Somerset-Maugham, Spartacus Educational - Biography of William Somerset Maugham, W. Somerset Maugham - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). Looking back, he described his early attempts to be heterosexual as the greatest mistake in his life. Maugham was born in the English embassy in Paris; the youngest son, he was nicknamed "Willie" by his beautiful mother, Edith . Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. [188] His urbane spy, Ashenden, influenced the stories of Raymond Chandler, Ian Fleming, Georges Simenon and John le Carr. [99], Throughout the decade Maugham, with Haxton in attendance, lived and entertained lavishly at his house on Cap Ferrat, the Villa La Mauresque. He was among the most popular writers of his era and reputedly the highest-paid author during the 1930s. During the First World War Maugham worked for the British Secret Service, later drawing on his experiences for stories published in the 1920s. Syrie and Liza were with him for part of the year, providing a convincing domestic cover, and his profession as a writer enabled him to travel about and stay in hotels without attracting attention. Born in Paris, where his father ran a law firm, he was orphaned by the age of ten and packed off to England, where his three older brothers were already. It was a departure from his previous style; its moral ambiguity and equivocal ending puzzled the critics and the public. As a result, he developed a talent for applying a wounding remark to those who displeased him. [186], The critic Philip Holden wrote in 2006 that Maugham occupies a paradoxical position in twentieth-century British literature. The new vicar dismisses the verger for being illiterate. Sitter associated with 115 portraits. William Somerset Maugham, British playwright and novelist, was one of the most reputed and well-known writers of his era, and one of the highest-paid authors of his time. Raised by an uncle, the remainder of . William Somerset Maugham was one of the most popular writers of his time, and reputedly the highest paid author of the 1930s. Gosselyn was a tall, stoutish, elderly woman, much taller than her husband, who gave you the impression that she was always trying to diminish her height. [58] The baby was legally the daughter of Henry Wellcome, although he had not seen his wife for many years. 1 Childhood and education; 2 Career. Most viewed. Somerset Maugham was one of the most popular and commercially successful authors of the twentieth century. [25] The local physician in Whitstable suggested the medical profession, and Maugham's uncle agreed. The possibility became a certainty when in November 1944, after a six-month illness initially diagnosed as pleurisy, Haxton died of tuberculosis. He would rather have misery with one than happiness with the other. Part one of two of four stories from Somerset's Quartet film. "The Razor's Edge," which would be his last important work, was published in 1944. [20] A modest legacy from his father enabled him to go to Heidelberg University to study. Maugham said, "Sometimes it fills me with uneasiness that no less than thirteen persons should spend their lives administering to the comfort of one old party". [85] They divorced in 1929. ivot [ editovat | editovat zdroj] Narodil se v Pai, kde jeho otec pracoval jako prvnk na britsk ambasd. [12], Maugham's mother died of tuberculosis in January 1882, a few days after his eighth birthday. [19] He left as soon as he could, although he later developed an affection for the school, and became a generous benefactor. ENVOI William Somerset Maugham 25 January 1874 - 16 December 1965) was a British playwright, novelist and short story writer. [87] His longest-running play of the decade, and of his whole career, was Our Betters. Antonyms for Somerset Maugham. [79], In late 1920 Maugham and Haxton set out on a trip that lasted more than a year. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German university. [104] As always, Maugham wrote continually. He shared . [114][n 11] After returning to Cap Ferrat he completed his last full-length work of fiction, the historical novel Catalina. He became a medical student in London and qualified as a physician in 1897. In 1940, W Somerset Maugham was forced to flee France as the Nazis invaded. . W. Somerset Maugham (25 January 1874 - 16 December 1965) first claimed fame as a playwright and novelist, but he became best known in the 1920's and 1930's the world over as an international traveler and short-story writer. The hero survives, and by the end of the book he is evidently set for a happy ending. [129] Maugham's literary style was plain and functional; he disclaimed any pretence of being a prose stylist. Hastings comments that for the young Maugham the hardest thing to accept in abandoning religious faith was "the knowledge that with no expectation of an afterlife he would never see his mother again". William Somerset Maugham CH was an English playwright, novelist, and short story writer. [49] In 1914 he began an affair with Syrie Wellcome, whom he had known since 1910. [112] Raphael calls him "a man of more reliable stamp" than Haxton;[73] Meyers describes him as "sober, efficient, honest and gentle". "[155], The Moon and Sixpence is the story of a man rejecting a conventional lifestyle, family obligations and social responsibility to indulge his ambition to be a painter. He published seventy-eight books -- including the undisputed classics Of Human Bondage and The Razor's Edge -- which sold over 40 million copies in his lifetime. He was, by his own account, not a particularly imaginative or inventive person, but he studied people and places and used them, sometimes with minimal alteration or disguise, in his stories. W. Somerset Maugham (The Moon and Sixpence) " He did not care if she was heartless, vicious and vulgar, stupid and grasping, he loved her. Maugham usually published his works under the name of W. Somerset Maugham. 245246. [167] Another English story is "Lord Mountdrago" (1939), depicting the psychological collapse of a pompous cabinet minister. Among his colleagues was Frederick Gerald Haxton, a young San Franciscan, who became his lover and companion for the next thirty years, but the affair between Maugham and Syrie Wellcome continued.[51]. Maugham, who had been writing steadily since he was 15, intended to make his career as an author, but he dared not tell his guardian. Prose stylist ] his longest-running play of the most popular writers of era! Those who displeased him that despite his considerable wealth he should not luxuriously. Ch was an English playwright, novelist, and reputedly the highest-paid author during the.... Collapse of a pompous cabinet minister his ambulance duties Nazis invaded couple 's house when Maugham was of! In late 1920 Maugham and Haxton set out on a trip that more! 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