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Orientations
This collection contains six stories by Somerset Maugham: The Punctiliousness of Don Sebastian -- A Bad Example -- De Amicitia -- Faith -- The Choice of Amyntas -- Daisy. Includes an active table of contents for easy navigation.
278 pages, Nook
First published January 1, 1899
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About the author
W. Somerset Maugham
2,096 books6,043 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 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 17, 2015
This collection contains six stories by Somerset de Maugham: The Punctiliousness of Don Sebastian, A Bad Example, De Amicitia, Faith, The Choice of Amyntas, Daisy. These are some of his first attempts of writing prose and I was amazed to find his wit and priceless sarcasm even here. I really enjoyed the volume:).
January 4, 2021
An early exercise in short story writing by Maugham. These are, for the most part, fairy tales.
1. The punctiliousness of Don Sebastian. I remember there was some revenge and poisoned wine. But that's about it.
2. A bad example. Mr. Clinton (ha!) starts out as Scrooge, and pretty much ends up as Scrooge at the end of A Christmas Carol. Except that there's that one touch of realism--he gets institutionalized for giving all his money away to the poor.
3. De amicitia This was utterly forgettable. I remember there were characters named Valentia and Ferdinand, and I think they traveled to the Netherlands together. But I might be confusing this with another book. Either way, this is not one of the high points of the collection.
4. Faith. A monk learns the hard way to faith and becomes a saint, posthumously, while never quite finding his faith.
5. The choice of Amyntas. This is most clearly a fairy tale; it is structured as one, and it ends as one. We have allegorical ladies who sit in a fairy tale land waiting with gifts for literally the first guy to wander in. It even has a moral at the end. Bzzt, no good, Maugham!
6. Daisy. A tale of small-town snobbery. The fairy tale element here is that Daisy, the town's fallen woman, is ostracized by the prim puritans of the town only to become a famous actress, and then a rich, titled Lady. Her parents have to go to her, begging bowl in hand, and she gives them money. They are humbled, she is vindicated. Yep, a fairy tale. It did remind me of Dreiser's Sister Carrie and of Edith Wharton's Summer. I think this might be the high point of the collection, even though it is the most clichéd and predictable story.
1. The punctiliousness of Don Sebastian. I remember there was some revenge and poisoned wine. But that's about it.
2. A bad example. Mr. Clinton (ha!) starts out as Scrooge, and pretty much ends up as Scrooge at the end of A Christmas Carol. Except that there's that one touch of realism--he gets institutionalized for giving all his money away to the poor.
3. De amicitia This was utterly forgettable. I remember there were characters named Valentia and Ferdinand, and I think they traveled to the Netherlands together. But I might be confusing this with another book. Either way, this is not one of the high points of the collection.
4. Faith. A monk learns the hard way to faith and becomes a saint, posthumously, while never quite finding his faith.
5. The choice of Amyntas. This is most clearly a fairy tale; it is structured as one, and it ends as one. We have allegorical ladies who sit in a fairy tale land waiting with gifts for literally the first guy to wander in. It even has a moral at the end. Bzzt, no good, Maugham!
6. Daisy. A tale of small-town snobbery. The fairy tale element here is that Daisy, the town's fallen woman, is ostracized by the prim puritans of the town only to become a famous actress, and then a rich, titled Lady. Her parents have to go to her, begging bowl in hand, and she gives them money. They are humbled, she is vindicated. Yep, a fairy tale. It did remind me of Dreiser's Sister Carrie and of Edith Wharton's Summer. I think this might be the high point of the collection, even though it is the most clichéd and predictable story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 28, 2023
These were written when he was quite young. They are not bad but just don't get to the levels of characterizations or pure language skills as his mass of works from the decades afterwards.
They are quite like fables or tales of fortune/outcome for a lesson of example type of exercise. Not unique in structure but also quite entertaining. Easy read. Much easier than many of the other Maugham I've read. Some of which have so many layers that I'd never call them easy read, despite the smoothness of the English form.
He was an excellent short story writer as much as a full length novelist. But some of his other collections carve and are much better overall than these here.
They are quite like fables or tales of fortune/outcome for a lesson of example type of exercise. Not unique in structure but also quite entertaining. Easy read. Much easier than many of the other Maugham I've read. Some of which have so many layers that I'd never call them easy read, despite the smoothness of the English form.
He was an excellent short story writer as much as a full length novelist. But some of his other collections carve and are much better overall than these here.
August 22, 2018
Beim Wiederlesen fällt erst auf, wie sehr mich der Mann beeinflußt hat. Nicht unbedingt immer positiv.
March 29, 2025
“The Punctiliousness of Don Sebastian”: 5/5⭐️
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“A Bad Example”: 4/5⭐️
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“De Amicita”: 3/5⭐️
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“Faith”: 5/5⭐️
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“The Choice of Amyntas”: 4/5⭐️
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“Daisy”: 5/5⭐️
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“A Bad Example”: 4/5⭐️
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“De Amicita”: 3/5⭐️
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“Faith”: 5/5⭐️
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“The Choice of Amyntas”: 4/5⭐️
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“Daisy”: 5/5⭐️
June 29, 2011
Half a dozen moral tales slightly reminiscent of de Maupassant. These though feel a touch laboured. For example 'A Bad Example' is far too long for the moral, nowadays it would be quarter the length without losing anything.
March 14, 2014
It was not as good as the other books written by author, but it being short stories was not painstaking to get through
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews