Collected Works of W. Somerset Maugham (Novels, Short Stories, Plays and Travel Sketches): A Collection of 33 works

by W. Somerset Maugham

This carefully crafted "Collected Works of W. Somerset Maugham (Novels, Short Stories, Plays and Travel Sketches)" is formatted for your eReader with a functional and detailed table of contents. William Somerset Maugham (1874 - 1965) was a British 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. Table of Liza of Lambeth The Making of a Saint The Hero Mrs Craddock The Merry-go-round The Explorer (The Novel) The Magician The Canadian (The Land of Promise) Of Human Bondage The Moon and Sixpence The Bishop's Apron The Painted Veil Short Story The Punctiliousness of Don Sebastian A Bad Example De Amicitia Faith The Choice of Amyntas Daisy The Trembling of a Little Stories of the South Sea The Pacific Mackintosh The Fall of Edward Barnard Red The Pool Honolulu Rain Envoi The Casuarina Before the Party P. & O. The Outstation The Force of Circumstance The Yellow Streak The Letter Other Short A Marriage of Convenience The Happy Couple The Mother Red The Taipan Jane Mayhew German Harry In a Strange Land The Luncheon The Round Dozen The Happy Man Mr Know-All The Ant and the Grasshopper The End of the Flight The Consul The Creative Impulse A Man of Honour Lady Frederick The Explorer The Circle Caesar's Wife Penelope Mrs. Dot Landed Gentry East of Suez Travel The Land of the Blessed Sketches and Impressions in Andalusia On A Chinese Screen

Genres: Fiction, Classics

5924 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 18, 2014

About the author

William 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.

Reviews

[JoAnn Branch · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually only read a short story from this book for a book club we were having. Any book by or about Somerset Maughan. The short story I read was "Mackintosh", out of a series written about "The Pacific!" As short stories go, this was a good one. It was really a character study of this strong man, "Mackintosh, who was the leader of one of the island colonies in Samoa. I would think he was something like a governor of that island. He was a very strong, interesting leader and the natives loved him. This story is mostly about his relationship with his assistant, Walker. A very good short story, well=written.

[Anatoly · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is written in a mystical genre. This is not a typical genre for Somerset Maugham. The author finishes the story mysteriously, spectacularly. It could scare readers.

The narrator meets the main character in a hotel. He lives in a Spanish town and he experiences something frightening.

Here is the link to the text of the story:

https://www.bookscool.com/en/The-Comp...

[Sofia Savova · Rating 5 out of 5]

Изключително съм впечатлена от кратките разкази на Моъм.
Те свършат неочаквано ,романтично ,загадъчно.
В изданието ,което аз дочетох имаше и две приказки."Принцесата на Сиам" определено ми стана любима и се конкурира с така известните приказки на Андерсен ,например.
Всеки ,който обича да чете този автор, трябва да обърне внимание и на разказите му.

[Aeterna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still interesting even when I reread it.

[Cecilia Chiolero · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourite writer. I could always pick it up and read something he wrote.

[Hope West · Rating 5 out of 5]

The master of short, deft stories with a memorable twist.

[Quiltmom14 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read The Letter as a companion to House of Doors. If you’re in a book club, read these two together! Have always loved Maugham’s writing.

[Duanew42 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A classic enjoyable to revisit