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The Works of Somerset Maugham: Nine Novels in One Volume
This Halcyon Classics ebook edition contains nine works by eminent British novelist Somerset Maugham, including 'Of Human Bondage.' Includes an active table of contents for easy of LambethThe HeroThe Land of the Blessed VirginThe ExplorerThe MagicianOf Human BondageThe Moon and SixpenceThe Trembling of a LeafThe Land of PromiseW. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) was an English 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. In addition to his literary success, Maugham was one of the first writers to make significant earnings from film adaptations.
482 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 1, 1977
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257 people want to read
About the author
W. Somerset Maugham
2,121 books6,083 followersWilliam Somerset Maugham was born in Paris in 1874. He spoke French even before he spoke a word of English, a fact to which some critics attribute the purity of his style.
His parents died early and, after an unhappy boyhood, which he recorded poignantly in Of Human Bondage, Maugham became a qualified physician. But writing was his true vocation. For ten years before his first success, he almost literally starved while pouring out novels and plays.
Maugham wrote at a time when experimental modernist literature such as that of William Faulkner, Thomas Mann, James Joyce and Virginia Woolf was gaining increasing popularity and winning critical acclaim. In this context, his plain prose style was criticized as 'such a tissue of clichés' that one's wonder is finally aroused at the writer's ability to assemble so many and at his unfailing inability to put anything in an individual way.
During World War I, Maugham worked for the British Secret Service . He travelled all over the world, and made many visits to America. After World War II, Maugham made his home in south of France and continued to move between England and Nice till his death in 1965.
At the time of Maugham's birth, French law was such that all foreign boys born in France became liable for conscription. Thus, Maugham was born within the Embassy, legally recognized as UK territory.
His parents died early and, after an unhappy boyhood, which he recorded poignantly in Of Human Bondage, Maugham became a qualified physician. But writing was his true vocation. For ten years before his first success, he almost literally starved while pouring out novels and plays.
Maugham wrote at a time when experimental modernist literature such as that of William Faulkner, Thomas Mann, James Joyce and Virginia Woolf was gaining increasing popularity and winning critical acclaim. In this context, his plain prose style was criticized as 'such a tissue of clichés' that one's wonder is finally aroused at the writer's ability to assemble so many and at his unfailing inability to put anything in an individual way.
During World War I, Maugham worked for the British Secret Service . He travelled all over the world, and made many visits to America. After World War II, Maugham made his home in south of France and continued to move between England and Nice till his death in 1965.
At the time of Maugham's birth, French law was such that all foreign boys born in France became liable for conscription. Thus, Maugham was born within the Embassy, legally recognized as UK territory.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 5, 2016
Of Human Bondage:-
Love is not always sweet or fun, if it is indeed love, and not a pleasant social connection one has cranked up into thinking of as love so one might feel proper about going ahead into intimacy or marriage. Love can be heart wrenching and painful, and one can be helpless in love with someone one might not approve of, someone who despises one in spite of the lover's superiority and the inferiority of the object of love. Life and love do not follow convenient patterns of paths to happiness, one has to hack out one's path and climb up with difficulty.
This is somewhat a sense of what Maughm describes far more beautifully.
................................................
Liza of Lambeth:-
About a young girl from slums - decidedly lower middle if not lower classes - from London, and her choices or lack thereof, her travails.
................................................
Moon and Sixpence:-
About Gaugin.
(12092008)
Unlike his other contemporaries Gauguin was not young when he took to painting but middle aged, with a family that he abandoned for the purpose of being free to paint. From there to his life in South Pacific islands where he spent his last years and did some of his most astounding paintings, his life story is the base of this book.
(13092010)
The story by Maugham goes into a crescendo after the artist leaves for Pacific islands, and the last part where the protagonist sees the ultimate artistic achievement of the artist in his final abode is unforgettable, with his realisation that those final works of the artist are neither possible to transport to elsewhere where they would create sensation and fetch tremendous price, nor would it be appropriate for the simple reason that they belong where they are, where they stem from and live, are a part of the life the artist found - and that he did this, intentionally, having realised as much, paying his tribute to to place where he found the greatest expression of his talent possible due to the place so full of life and peace.
Looking at some of the works of Gauguin after reading this brings one shivers, not in the smallest part due to the sheer beauty and life of the work.
(22092010)
.................................................
The Magician:-
.................................................
The Explorer:-
.................................................
Love is not always sweet or fun, if it is indeed love, and not a pleasant social connection one has cranked up into thinking of as love so one might feel proper about going ahead into intimacy or marriage. Love can be heart wrenching and painful, and one can be helpless in love with someone one might not approve of, someone who despises one in spite of the lover's superiority and the inferiority of the object of love. Life and love do not follow convenient patterns of paths to happiness, one has to hack out one's path and climb up with difficulty.
This is somewhat a sense of what Maughm describes far more beautifully.
................................................
Liza of Lambeth:-
About a young girl from slums - decidedly lower middle if not lower classes - from London, and her choices or lack thereof, her travails.
................................................
Moon and Sixpence:-
About Gaugin.
(12092008)
Unlike his other contemporaries Gauguin was not young when he took to painting but middle aged, with a family that he abandoned for the purpose of being free to paint. From there to his life in South Pacific islands where he spent his last years and did some of his most astounding paintings, his life story is the base of this book.
(13092010)
The story by Maugham goes into a crescendo after the artist leaves for Pacific islands, and the last part where the protagonist sees the ultimate artistic achievement of the artist in his final abode is unforgettable, with his realisation that those final works of the artist are neither possible to transport to elsewhere where they would create sensation and fetch tremendous price, nor would it be appropriate for the simple reason that they belong where they are, where they stem from and live, are a part of the life the artist found - and that he did this, intentionally, having realised as much, paying his tribute to to place where he found the greatest expression of his talent possible due to the place so full of life and peace.
Looking at some of the works of Gauguin after reading this brings one shivers, not in the smallest part due to the sheer beauty and life of the work.
(22092010)
.................................................
The Magician:-
.................................................
The Explorer:-
.................................................
May 6, 2025
# Maugham's Greatest Hits: A Literary Buffet for the Morally Ambiguous
Somerset Maugham's collected works arrive like an overstuffed suitcase from a journey through the morally ambiguous corners of the British Empire. *The Works of Somerset Maugham: Nine Novels in One Volume* is the literary equivalent of an all-you-can-eat buffet where every dish is served with a side of cynicism and garnished with withering observations about human nature.
For the uninitiated, diving into this tome is like attending a cocktail party hosted by your most judgmental uncle – the one who's seen it all, done most of it, and isn't particularly impressed by any of it. Maugham writes with the detached precision of a man who has spent decades watching humans make the same mistakes across continents and is both amused and exhausted by the spectacle.
The collection includes his masterpiece "Of Human Bondage," which follows Philip Carey through life's indignities with such excruciating detail that you'll feel personally victimized by Mildred, the waitress who becomes Philip's emotional dominatrix. It's the literary equivalent of watching someone repeatedly stub their toe while refusing to wear shoes – painful, yet impossible to look away from.
"The Moon and Sixpence" introduces us to Charles Strickland, a man who abandons his family to pursue painting with the casual disregard of someone dropping a Netflix subscription. Based loosely on Paul Gauguin, Strickland embodies the uncomfortable question: does being a genius excuse being an absolute monster? (Spoiler: Maugham doesn't think so, but he's fascinated by the possibility.)
In "Cakes and Ale," Maugham essentially commits literary homicide, skewering the pretensions of the English literary establishment with the precision of a surgeon who secretly enjoys causing pain. It's deliciously petty and all the better for it.
"The Razor's Edge" follows Larry Darrell's spiritual quest with the bemused tolerance of someone watching a friend announce they're going vegan – interested in the journey but skeptical of the destination. It's perhaps Maugham's most generous work, allowing for the possibility that meaning might exist, even if most people are too busy collecting dinner invitations to notice.
Throughout these nine novels, Maugham's prose remains as crisp and dry as the martinis his characters frequently consume. He never wastes a word, never indulges in flowery descriptions, and delivers devastating character assessments with the casual precision of someone flicking lint off a bespoke suit.
What makes this collection particularly worth your time is Maugham's unflinching examination of human hypocrisy. Long before it was fashionable to deconstruct colonialism, Maugham was quietly documenting the moral rot at its center. His expatriates, colonial administrators, and adventurers in the Far East are rarely heroes – they're people fleeing something, usually themselves, and finding that their problems have inconveniently packed themselves in the luggage.
The Halcyon Classics edition packages these nine novels with all the charm of a government report – functional but not beautiful. The formatting occasionally makes you wonder if the editor was paid by the page break, but the content transcends these minor irritations.
In an age of earnest literature that wears its moral certainty like a sandwich board, Maugham's cool skepticism feels refreshingly honest. He doesn't pretend to have answers, only increasingly uncomfortable questions about why we do the things we do.
So pour yourself something strong, settle into your most comfortable chair, and prepare to be entertained, unsettled, and occasionally offended by a master observer of human folly. Just don't expect to feel better about humanity when you're done – Maugham wasn't in the business of comfort, only truth.
Somerset Maugham's collected works arrive like an overstuffed suitcase from a journey through the morally ambiguous corners of the British Empire. *The Works of Somerset Maugham: Nine Novels in One Volume* is the literary equivalent of an all-you-can-eat buffet where every dish is served with a side of cynicism and garnished with withering observations about human nature.
For the uninitiated, diving into this tome is like attending a cocktail party hosted by your most judgmental uncle – the one who's seen it all, done most of it, and isn't particularly impressed by any of it. Maugham writes with the detached precision of a man who has spent decades watching humans make the same mistakes across continents and is both amused and exhausted by the spectacle.
The collection includes his masterpiece "Of Human Bondage," which follows Philip Carey through life's indignities with such excruciating detail that you'll feel personally victimized by Mildred, the waitress who becomes Philip's emotional dominatrix. It's the literary equivalent of watching someone repeatedly stub their toe while refusing to wear shoes – painful, yet impossible to look away from.
"The Moon and Sixpence" introduces us to Charles Strickland, a man who abandons his family to pursue painting with the casual disregard of someone dropping a Netflix subscription. Based loosely on Paul Gauguin, Strickland embodies the uncomfortable question: does being a genius excuse being an absolute monster? (Spoiler: Maugham doesn't think so, but he's fascinated by the possibility.)
In "Cakes and Ale," Maugham essentially commits literary homicide, skewering the pretensions of the English literary establishment with the precision of a surgeon who secretly enjoys causing pain. It's deliciously petty and all the better for it.
"The Razor's Edge" follows Larry Darrell's spiritual quest with the bemused tolerance of someone watching a friend announce they're going vegan – interested in the journey but skeptical of the destination. It's perhaps Maugham's most generous work, allowing for the possibility that meaning might exist, even if most people are too busy collecting dinner invitations to notice.
Throughout these nine novels, Maugham's prose remains as crisp and dry as the martinis his characters frequently consume. He never wastes a word, never indulges in flowery descriptions, and delivers devastating character assessments with the casual precision of someone flicking lint off a bespoke suit.
What makes this collection particularly worth your time is Maugham's unflinching examination of human hypocrisy. Long before it was fashionable to deconstruct colonialism, Maugham was quietly documenting the moral rot at its center. His expatriates, colonial administrators, and adventurers in the Far East are rarely heroes – they're people fleeing something, usually themselves, and finding that their problems have inconveniently packed themselves in the luggage.
The Halcyon Classics edition packages these nine novels with all the charm of a government report – functional but not beautiful. The formatting occasionally makes you wonder if the editor was paid by the page break, but the content transcends these minor irritations.
In an age of earnest literature that wears its moral certainty like a sandwich board, Maugham's cool skepticism feels refreshingly honest. He doesn't pretend to have answers, only increasingly uncomfortable questions about why we do the things we do.
So pour yourself something strong, settle into your most comfortable chair, and prepare to be entertained, unsettled, and occasionally offended by a master observer of human folly. Just don't expect to feel better about humanity when you're done – Maugham wasn't in the business of comfort, only truth.
October 23, 2017
He is great in describing characters even with only a few words "she was bigger than life"
July 6, 2011
Having the beginnings of a romance interrupted with the throes of a slow-built suspense novel, Maugham presents a group of characters whose lives are altered because of an imposing and self-proclaimed magician. Set in the early twentieth century, questions of early modern science and occult abilities are incorporated to create a classic story that unfortunately reeks of unoriginality.
With images of carriages rolling through Paris and London, a respect for witty banter, and an old fashioned sense of propriety, literature enthusiasts get the feeling of being set up for an enjoyable travel through time with an impending romance. In addition, merging the mysterious aspect of a magician adds the shift and friction of the plot of the story, which is initially enjoyable. The magician’s unexplained tricks give a sense of mysticism. It is then unfortunate that the novel’s themes, plots, and characters turn into such a formulaic scheme.
Slow to start, “The Magician” has the usual pace of a classic novel that builds up its characters in an effect to understand the alteration of the individuals during the story. However, like a marinating piece of meat, the characters’ tension take too long to spice up the story. The limbo-like tempo continues to slog on until roughly three-fourths of the way into the book. On finally reaching the suspenseful points, my time had been so invested that it was necessary to satisfy my peeked curiosity. Luckily for me, at this point, the novel continues its fast-paced intrigue all the way through the final pages.
I admit that the allusions to great works of art give a cultured aspect to the story. However, borrowing plots of manipulation and fear from “Dracula” lend an effect of déjà vu that is not necessarily welcome. Likewise, the mixture of similar romance and science features from
“Frankenstein” lend a hint of originality to what could be considered a rip-off of other classics. No wonder Maugham readily admitted to borrowing themes from various other classics. Although I am a fan of the traditional literature, it is hard for me to completely appreciate a novel that repeatedly sponges aspects off of much older literary classics.
With images of carriages rolling through Paris and London, a respect for witty banter, and an old fashioned sense of propriety, literature enthusiasts get the feeling of being set up for an enjoyable travel through time with an impending romance. In addition, merging the mysterious aspect of a magician adds the shift and friction of the plot of the story, which is initially enjoyable. The magician’s unexplained tricks give a sense of mysticism. It is then unfortunate that the novel’s themes, plots, and characters turn into such a formulaic scheme.
Slow to start, “The Magician” has the usual pace of a classic novel that builds up its characters in an effect to understand the alteration of the individuals during the story. However, like a marinating piece of meat, the characters’ tension take too long to spice up the story. The limbo-like tempo continues to slog on until roughly three-fourths of the way into the book. On finally reaching the suspenseful points, my time had been so invested that it was necessary to satisfy my peeked curiosity. Luckily for me, at this point, the novel continues its fast-paced intrigue all the way through the final pages.
I admit that the allusions to great works of art give a cultured aspect to the story. However, borrowing plots of manipulation and fear from “Dracula” lend an effect of déjà vu that is not necessarily welcome. Likewise, the mixture of similar romance and science features from
“Frankenstein” lend a hint of originality to what could be considered a rip-off of other classics. No wonder Maugham readily admitted to borrowing themes from various other classics. Although I am a fan of the traditional literature, it is hard for me to completely appreciate a novel that repeatedly sponges aspects off of much older literary classics.
January 8, 2011
1919 English version). The 4th novel I read and Somerset is undoubtedly a good writer. Based on the life of the painter Paul Gauguin (Charles Strickland in the novel ) it made me get interested in painting. I googled all Gauguin's pictures through the web and while reading about it. I also don't deny hating Strickland's opinion about women and the way he abandoned his family but the idea of persecuting one's dream and dying fulfilling this dream is something so amazing and must be a lesson to our life.
November 2, 2013
I bought this for the story, "The Moon and Sixpence", and ended up reading all the books included in the collection. The thing that attracted me the most was his character descriptions, and how he brought to life an entire being in just a few short sentences.
August 31, 2014
Actually I read the Halcyon publication through Amazon, nine works; I read a little each morning with a cup of coffee and it took a year to complete. I enjoyed his writing, particularly the story "The Land of Promise."
November 11, 2010
Along with the Razors Edge, the Moon and Sixpence is my favorite Maugham book. Another posessed doomed soul who scarifices everything for art and feeling. I wonder why I like Maugham's works so much.
October 1, 2011
This is one of my most favorute authors. Can't say much more than that. The writer who writes as the books should be written.
November 28, 2013
Awesome. He was a master.
Read
January 8, 2021When I find an author I enjoy, I want to read more and more of what he's written. Maugham never disappoints me. His short stories are brilliant.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews