Book description
From the love affair between a missionary and a drunkard to the mystery
surrounding a death at sea, this collection gives a warm and humourous
insight into life and history of life in the colonies and stands as a
superbly entertaining and compelling testament to Maugham's skill and
power as a short story writer. William Somerset Maugham was born in
1874 and lived in Paris until he was ten. He was educated at King's
School, Canterbury, and at Heidelberg University. He spent some time at
St. Thomas' Hospital with the idea of practising medicine, but the
success of his first novel,
Liza of Lambeth
, published in 1897, won him over to literature. Of Human Bondage
, the first of his masterpieces, came out in 1915, and with the
publication in 1919 of The Moon and Sixpence
his reputation as a novelist was established. At the same time his fame
as a successful playwright and writer was being consolidated with
acclaimed productions of various plays and the publication of several
short story collections. His other works include travel books, essays,
criticism and the autobiographical The Summing Up and A Writer's Notebook
. In 1927 Somerset Maugham settled in the South of France and lived
there until his death in 1965
