Ten Novels and Their Authors by W. Somerset Maugham

The book has never been out of print since. Then, Theodore Dreiser, influential author and critic, compared it to a Beethoven symphony. One of his best regarded works, Of Human Bondage (1915), a semi-autographical piece, was first panned by British and American critics as an overly sentimental romance novel. By 1914, Maugham produced ten plays and published ten novels. That did not seem to stop Maugham's commercial success. He was charged with plagiarism in Vanity Fair by Aleister Crowley, the subject of Maugham's supernatural thriller, The Magician (1908). Maugham's work often blurred fiction and non-fiction elements. During World War I, he was a Red Cross ambulance driver, he served the British Secret Service in Switzerland and Russia where he witnessed the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, and he traveled extensively in India and and Southeast Asia. Maugham had an interesting career that shaped much of his writing before and after he became famous. When his first book, Liza of Lambeth (1897) became popular and quickly sold-out, Maugham quit practicing medicine to begin writing full-time. Orphaned at the age of ten and raised by an emotionally cold uncle, Maugham decided to become a doctor, bucking the trend of the men in his family practicing law. William Somerset Maugham (1874 - 1965), British playwright, novelist, and short story writer, earned the distinction

***For all our books, postage is charged at cost, allowing for packaging: any shipping rates indicated on ABE are an average only: we will reduce the P & P charge where appropriate - please contact us for postal rates for heavier books and sets etc.Pen Name: Born: JanuDied: December 16, 1965 ***First impression of the first paperback edition of this work by W. ***'The novel, I can never repeat too often, is not to be looked upon as a medium of instruction or edification, but as a source of intelligent diversion.' - Quote taken from the back cover. ***Contains essays on the following novels: Tom Jones Pride and Prejudice Le Rouge et le Noir Le Pere Goriot David Copperfield Madame Bovary Moby Dick Wuthering Heights The Brothers Karamazov War and Peace. ***301 pages plus a one page publisher's advert at the rear. ***A near fine copy in illustrated card wrappers. ***Rear cover illustration taken from a portrait drawing by Graham Sutherland. Originally published as a hardback in the UK in 1954 by William Heinemann. A 1969 first impression of the first paperback edition - Penguin Catalogue No. Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket, as Issued.

Ten Novels and Their Authors by W. Somerset Maugham