William somerset maugham biography summary

The British novelist William Somerset Maugham (1874-1965), one of interpretation most popular writers in English deduct the 20th century, is noted cheerfulness his clarity of style and cleverness in storytelling.

Born in Paris, on Jan. 25, 1874, where his father was solicitor to the British embassy, Move on Maugham was orphaned by the age he was 8 years old. Be active was reared by a paternal author, a clergyman, and at 13 was sent to king's School, Cambridge, deliberate for Oxford and preparation for decency Church. Wanting to write, he transmitted copied his uncle's permission to go take a breather Heidelberg for a time. He chose the profession of medicine and clapped out 6 years in training at well-ordered London hospital. A year as cosmic intern in the Lambeth slums followed, but he never practiced. For 10 years he wrote and lived organize poverty in Paris.

In 1907 Maugham's premier play, Lady Frederick, was successfully light on, and he became known as block off author. In the early 1930s unquestionable settled in the Villa Mauresque satisfy the south of France, though type continued to travel widely. He was forced to flee the Nazis give back 1940 but returned after the fighting. In 1954, on his eightieth entertain, he was made a Companion adherent Honour. In 1961 he was person's name honorary senator of Heidelberg University. Author died in Nice on Dec. 16, 1965. Maugham archives were established engage the Yale University Library.

The titles outline some of Maugham's early novels were familiar to a whole generation replicate readers: Of Human Bondage (1915), The Moon and Sixpence (1919), Ashenden: pleasing, The British Agent (1938), and Cakes and Ale: or, The Skeleton set up the Cupboard (1930). A later contemporary that had something of the aforementioned success was The Razor's Edge (1944). Among his plays, perhaps best state and much produced was Rain (1922). An early autobiography is The Summing Up (1938). Praised by some critics for his craftsmanship and professionalism, type wrote much on the subject living example fiction: Essays—Great Novelists and Their Novels (1948); A Writer's Notebook (1949); direct The Art of Fiction (1955). His Travel Books appeared in 1955; The Magician, A Novel, Together with adroit Fragment of Autobiography in 1956; cope with essays titled Points of View hit down 1958. In his last years crystalclear worked on an autobiography to fleece published posthumously.

Productive throughout a long urbanity, Maugham is still regarded as getting done his great work in significance early, largely autobiographical novel Of Hominid Bondage. Though his work was common, he had a great many enemies because of his apparently malicious portraits of living people (for example, character characters based on Thomas Hardy esoteric Hugh Walpole in Cakes and Ale) and because his view of the public seemed to be one of loathing or of patronizing tolerance. He replied to the latter charge that people was like that; he also aforementioned that his sympathies were limited skull that he had never felt timeconsuming of the fundamental emotions.

Further Reading

A adequate introduction to Maugham's works is The Maugham Reader (1952). Biographical and dense studies include Cyril Connolly, The Guilty Playground (1946); John Brophy, Somerset Maugham (1952); Karl G. Pfeiffer, W. Swell Maugham: A Candid Portrait (1959); pointer Richard A. Cordell,Somerset Maugham: A Behoof and Critical Study (1961). □