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151st out of 285 books
—
561 voters
Up at the Villa
In Up at the Villa, W. Somerset Maugham portrays a wealthy young English woman who finds herself confronted rather brutally by the repercussions of whimsy.
On the day her older and prosperous friend asks her to marry him, Mary Leonard demurs and decides to postpone her reply a few days. But driving into the hills above Florence alone that evening, Mary offers a ride to a ha...more
On the day her older and prosperous friend asks her to marry him, Mary Leonard demurs and decides to postpone her reply a few days. But driving into the hills above Florence alone that evening, Mary offers a ride to a ha...more
Paperback, 128 pages
Published
January 25th 2005
by Vintage Classics
(first published 1941)
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W. Somerset Maugham presents characters who have divergent views on life. This complex psychological mix of personalities engages the reader from the first bend of the binding to the suspenseful ending.
How will the fast paced events of two days effect the way Mary Panton engages with the world? At thirty, Mary has loved and lost, known abuse and humiliation by the hands of her deceased alcoholic husband. She feels a numbness toward intimacy, and even though she is persued by men, she prefers th...more
How will the fast paced events of two days effect the way Mary Panton engages with the world? At thirty, Mary has loved and lost, known abuse and humiliation by the hands of her deceased alcoholic husband. She feels a numbness toward intimacy, and even though she is persued by men, she prefers th...more
This is now the fourth book I've read of W. Somerset Maugham. I find that I generally like his writing, but all his novels are so different! Each one is like jumping into a different genre.
"Up at the Villa" is really more of a novelette, a very short, quick read. An upper-middle-class widow named Mary is living in a villa overlooking Florence. She has been widowed for a year, but she is still quite young and beautiful. She receives two proposals of marriage within a short time. One is no surpris...more
"Up at the Villa" is really more of a novelette, a very short, quick read. An upper-middle-class widow named Mary is living in a villa overlooking Florence. She has been widowed for a year, but she is still quite young and beautiful. She receives two proposals of marriage within a short time. One is no surpris...more
A pleasing - if slight - tale. This is the fourth book I have read by W. Somerset Maugham, and follows Of Human Bondage, Ashenden and Christmas Holiday which were all excellent. I am now intent on reading all his works.
This is a long short story, or a short novel, and I read it in less than a day, and really enjoyed it.
The other books I have read by W. Somerset Maugham were, to one degree or another, autobiographical. I doubt this contains any biography - although the location (Florence and th...more
This is a long short story, or a short novel, and I read it in less than a day, and really enjoyed it.
The other books I have read by W. Somerset Maugham were, to one degree or another, autobiographical. I doubt this contains any biography - although the location (Florence and th...more
Up at the Villa is a story written in simple language, with characters that come alive with dialogue and sentiments that reflect the best and the worst of human nature in a melting pot of circumstances. But what lingers underneath the surface of Maugham’s stories is interesting subtext – in this case – about Empire, the ennui of the elite and class difference.
This is a novella, making it a quick and easy-read and takes place over 48 hours or thereabouts. The characters are one-dimensional: Edga...more
This is a novella, making it a quick and easy-read and takes place over 48 hours or thereabouts. The characters are one-dimensional: Edga...more
Mary Panton é uma jovem viuva que se encontra em Florença numa bela casa emprestada por uns amigos de modo a restabelecer-se da morte do marido e pensar no que havia de fazer com a sua vida.
À semelhança de tantas outras ocasiões, aceita o convite para jantar de uns amigos e é assim que se vê num restaurante rodeada de um grupo de pessoas, algumas delas algo curiosas.
Nesse período dá-se um acontecimento que se prolongará não apenas no regresso a casa de Mary, como durante toda a noite, acontecime...more
À semelhança de tantas outras ocasiões, aceita o convite para jantar de uns amigos e é assim que se vê num restaurante rodeada de um grupo de pessoas, algumas delas algo curiosas.
Nesse período dá-se um acontecimento que se prolongará não apenas no regresso a casa de Mary, como durante toda a noite, acontecime...more
Aug 27, 2012
Ape
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
france-italy-spain-portugal
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W. Somerset Maugham was a master of the novel as well as the short story, and here he manages to cover the elusive middle ground. This is a very short novel, weighing in at a scant 209 Harry Potter-formatted* pages, and it reads like one. Not that that's a bad thing! Where other Maugham classics like Of Human Bondage develop slowly, refusing to be rushed, this book moves at a ripping pace.
Most of Maugham's formidable strengths are here, fully realized: an ear for authentic, snappy, gently funny...more
Most of Maugham's formidable strengths are here, fully realized: an ear for authentic, snappy, gently funny...more
I found it really difficult to give this book a star rating. Even to me it's obvious that Maugham has a complete mastery of language and uses words so perfectly. Superficially this book has a lot in common with EM Forster's A Room With a View, Florence as a setting, marriage proposals from an ambitious but dull man and a new, exciting, unconventional man. But this book is much wilder and unrestrained, perhaps a product of being written and set later (Forster pre-WWI, Maugham WWII) when a lot had...more
I was really excited to get this book, since after reading Of Human Bondage I've been on a quest to find all of Maugham's works. This is really more of a short story or novella, but at the same time quite powerful.
The story opens with the widowed, but still desired and beautiful Mary Leonard pondering a marriage proposal from an old family friend and waiting for his return. During the few days he's gone, Mary has a chance encounter with a young and handsome stranger, and cougar-action ensues. (...more
The story opens with the widowed, but still desired and beautiful Mary Leonard pondering a marriage proposal from an old family friend and waiting for his return. During the few days he's gone, Mary has a chance encounter with a young and handsome stranger, and cougar-action ensues. (...more
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There's a moment in this book that really catches you off guard that saves this rather short, trite, and understated book. Maugham opens The Razors Edge was is four years junior to Up at the Villa with, this is hardly a novel since it neither starts or ends with a marriage or death. Little did I know he was commenting on his own story approach with the proof being this novel. Most of the characters are really underdeveloped, which works to some extent, but does keep you feeling withdrawn from th...more
I'd never read anything by Maugham before, but the book looked like a quick read and the setting -- a villa overlooking Florence in the years just after WWII -- sounded divine. Maugham has a very direct style, not flowerly or packed full of words, yet he manages to say a lot about his characters and the action. The main character is Mary Panton, a British widow recovering from an unpleasant marriage by taking an extended vacation in a borrowed Italian villa. She is being courted by an old family...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Florença. Uma magnífica casa nas colinas serve de cenário para um sonho que, subitamente, se transformará em pesadelo... Nesse refúgio de tranquilidade, as violentas emoções do passado são momentaneamente eclipsadas e Mary Panton pode encarar calmamente as perspectivas do seu segundo casamento com Sir Edgar Swift - que ela admira e respeita, mas não ama. Um simples acto de compaixão, o desejo de proporcionar alguma beleza à vida atribulada e infeliz de um jovem refugiado, vai no entanto dar iníc...more
The shortest novel (or longest short story) I've ever read. The brevity lends itself to a snappy plot with not a word wasted, but it is also of an awkward length, so that although characters and happenings are developed quickly, they are somewhat shallow.
Contrary to what some others have written here, and my impression from other Maugham works, Up at the Villa didn't set off my misogyny alarms. Maugham portrayed Mary, I felt, as a fairly sympathetic character. When she gave herself to a complet...more
Contrary to what some others have written here, and my impression from other Maugham works, Up at the Villa didn't set off my misogyny alarms. Maugham portrayed Mary, I felt, as a fairly sympathetic character. When she gave herself to a complet...more
This book has the advantage of being both memorable and short. It is technically impeccable and is an enjoyable read for the subtleties of its prose alone. Maugham really nails the dialogue, which is both believable and immediately recognisable as being part of the story's milleaux. The central character, Mary, has to deal with the attentions of three men over the space of a few days. Each man represents a different ideal: luck, political conscience and moral duty. Without giving too much away,...more
It was definitely a light pleasant read for me. In just over 120 pages, Maugham did shed some light on the complexities and form of the human mind and state. I personally felt that while some aspects of the story is pretty absurd in a sense that Mary could get away with her "crime", it pushes readers to think twice as to whether or not it really is a crime to be convicted of. I guess it is quite a fair bit of positive and negative connotation in what Maugham wants to deliver? I finished this in...more
I think over all that it was a very good story. The main character seemed to have little self-worth, other than the fact that she was a beautiful woman. She made foolish choices, and inadvertently a foolish, desperate man took his own life. I was interested in Maugham's indepth characterization of "The Nation Builder." A man who was willing to sacrifice his own (hard won) life and social status for the marriage of this woman who (might one day be under suspicion!) Of course, the results of his a...more
A novella containing the very elements why I love W. S. Maugham's works... dramatic plot almost ready for the screen, interesting twists and turns, incisive character study, direct and eloquent writing. After picking it up at the library and started reading it there, I realized right away that I'd read it before. But no matter, I wanted to refresh myself with the story since I'd forgotten some parts and the details. As I'd seen the movie adaptation before, a tight, captivating version with the e...more
I am a big fan of Maugham's writing style. It is matter of fact and direct but also full of details.
Up at the Villa is interesting and compelling (a bit dark, just so you know.) I liked the characters or better said, I liked learning about the characters. They were intriguing. As I read the book, I found myself wishing I was in Florence too. Maugham has a way of doing that to me.
Other info: This is closer to a novella than a book. I breezed through it very quickly. It may be hard to find, I had...more
Up at the Villa is interesting and compelling (a bit dark, just so you know.) I liked the characters or better said, I liked learning about the characters. They were intriguing. As I read the book, I found myself wishing I was in Florence too. Maugham has a way of doing that to me.
Other info: This is closer to a novella than a book. I breezed through it very quickly. It may be hard to find, I had...more
There's a particular kind of alchemy about the novella. Someone like Hemingway or Fitzgerald has a certain way of turning fewer than two hundred pages into a novel that seems much greater than the sum of its pages.
Sadly, there's none of that magic about Maugham's Up at the Villa. At least, not that I could find.
I really wanted to like this short novel - after all, I've heard such good things about Maugham. But no. Up at the Villa just didn't work for me.
You can read my complete review of Up at...more
Sadly, there's none of that magic about Maugham's Up at the Villa. At least, not that I could find.
I really wanted to like this short novel - after all, I've heard such good things about Maugham. But no. Up at the Villa just didn't work for me.
You can read my complete review of Up at...more
Jan 25, 2011
Margaret
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
british-literature,
authors-mn
This is the only Maugham I've read which I nearly disliked. The story is psychological suspense: woman picks up stranger out of the kindness of her heart, tragedy ensues, woman and man try to avert disaster. I disliked the portrayal of the main characters: Mary is both unnaturally perfect and unnaturally stupid, while her male counterpart is supposedly sexy and yet merely overbearing. The relationship set up at the end of the book just looks abusive to me, and I don't care for Maugham's attitude...more
2 likes · like · see review
Apr 27, 2013
Start from scratch
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
recensiti
Vi è mai capitato di leggere un libro “rassicurante”? Di cercarlo proprio. E’ un aggettivo un pò stridente se accostato alla letteratura però mi rendo conto che è esattamente la sensazione che ho provato leggendo William Somerset Maugham.
In villa è un racconto confortante perché nulla di quello che accade turba la normale previsione della storia; c’è anche il coup de théâtre, ma ciò non intacca minimamente l’atmosfera pacata di questo breve libro.
Tutto torna, tutto è come deve essere.
Versione c...more
In villa è un racconto confortante perché nulla di quello che accade turba la normale previsione della storia; c’è anche il coup de théâtre, ma ciò non intacca minimamente l’atmosfera pacata di questo breve libro.
Tutto torna, tutto è come deve essere.
Versione c...more
1 like · like · see review
Mary Panton is a young widower who is spending a comfortable life at an Italian villa, recovering from the facts surrounding her husband's death! The story takes place in the late thirties! Mary fits right into the the society of the times. She gets involved with several men and then the trouble begins. She's in hot water when one of these male friends meets and untimely end. She turns to another for assistance! It's a fascinating story of romance, violence, suspicion, and suspence! Maugham is n...more
Mary Panton is a wealthy, young and beautiful widow recovering from the death of her husband while staying at a borrowed Tuscan villa. Mary's beauty is captivating and she receives two marriage proposals. One from a much older and distinguished childhood friend. The other from a roguishly irresistable lothario, when a spontaneous and impulsive act turns Mary's life into complete turmoil.
Up At The Villa is a short and sweet novelette that had me inthralled from the very beginning. Maugham did a...more
Up At The Villa is a short and sweet novelette that had me inthralled from the very beginning. Maugham did a...more
You understand the true value of this book, only when you realize you had lived the same feelings as the character Karl from the book. I had read the book some years ago and even managed to forget the title and the author. Much later, when i was feeling horrible, i remembered about the book and wanted so much to find it and re-read it. I wasn't able to find it without knowing the author, the title or at least the cover. I found it today while cleaning. By mistake. I think this book has chances o...more
1 like · like · see review
May 26, 2012
Stephen Hayes
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fiction-general,
our-books
A widow, Mary Panton, is staying at a villa near Florence. Her marriage was not a good one, and when she receives several offers of marriage she is aware of the need to choose wisely. The problem is that she is not in love with any of the men who declare their love for her, and a lot more hangs on her choices than she thinks at first.
W. Somerset Maugham was aware of his own shortcomings as a writer, and regarded himself as being in the front rank of the second-raters -- an evaluation with which...more
W. Somerset Maugham was aware of his own shortcomings as a writer, and regarded himself as being in the front rank of the second-raters -- an evaluation with which...more
RIECCOCI
In realtà volevo leggere un altro libro, ma avendo rivelato quanto mi sia piaciuto "il velo dipinto" beh...mi è stato prestato questo..
di solito non leggo mai due libri dello stesso autore di fila...perchè così mi godo in pieno il libro e per variare perchè personalmente anche se mi piace da aimpazzire finisce chemi viene a noia. Ma era lì mi guardava..era piccino...e mi ha incuriosito...ho iniziato a leggerlo e in due sere l'ho finito.
Diverso dall'altro come abientanzione...siamo in Ita...more
In realtà volevo leggere un altro libro, ma avendo rivelato quanto mi sia piaciuto "il velo dipinto" beh...mi è stato prestato questo..
di solito non leggo mai due libri dello stesso autore di fila...perchè così mi godo in pieno il libro e per variare perchè personalmente anche se mi piace da aimpazzire finisce chemi viene a noia. Ma era lì mi guardava..era piccino...e mi ha incuriosito...ho iniziato a leggerlo e in due sere l'ho finito.
Diverso dall'altro come abientanzione...siamo in Ita...more
The story of this slim novella opens rather mundanely, with Mary Panton, a young, English widow spending time in a villa in Tuscany, awaiting a proposal from Sir Edgar Swift, soon to be Governor of Bengal. Although she doesn’t love him, she does not refuse his offer of marriage, but instead asks for the three days that he is away in which to consider her answer. During that time, however, a chance encounter in a restaurant turns her world upside down, and she must choose what to do.
Maugham creat...more
Maugham creat...more
Jul 06, 2010
Alexander Arsov
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
maugham-novels,
favorites
W. Somerset Maugham
Up at the Villa
Vintage Classics, Paperback, 2004.
8vo. 120 pp.
First published by Doubleday Doran in 1941.
===========================================
It is a shame to write a long review for so short a novel; or a novelette, as Maugham himself once called it, or a longish short story if you are fan of that genre. Biographers and critics have always been only too eager to pour venom over this work: badly written, superficial, unworthy of the mature Maugham, shameful thing to publi...more
Up at the Villa
Vintage Classics, Paperback, 2004.
8vo. 120 pp.
First published by Doubleday Doran in 1941.
===========================================
It is a shame to write a long review for so short a novel; or a novelette, as Maugham himself once called it, or a longish short story if you are fan of that genre. Biographers and critics have always been only too eager to pour venom over this work: badly written, superficial, unworthy of the mature Maugham, shameful thing to publi...more
Jul 16, 2010
Wayne
added it
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
anyone who likes their tension short and sweet.
Recommended to Wayne by:
Somerset M's short stories
Shelves:
english-classic-lit
This was GREAT fun to read because I was always predicting what path the author would go down next, what he hadn't considered and if and when he would and what the characters would do next.
Three men want to possess a young widow.
One dies. There is no doubt about whodunit!!!
And a complete innocent is in danger of being accused.
It's how this death impacts on several lives that creates the tension and the many psychological twists and turns that we are privy to, the mental chess game that ensues, t...more
Three men want to possess a young widow.
One dies. There is no doubt about whodunit!!!
And a complete innocent is in danger of being accused.
It's how this death impacts on several lives that creates the tension and the many psychological twists and turns that we are privy to, the mental chess game that ensues, t...more
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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 alm...more
More about W. Somerset Maugham...
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 alm...more
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“If there's anything I dislike it's the violin", she answered. "Why one should want to hear anyone scrape the hairs of a horse's tail against the guts of a dead cat is something I shall never understand.”
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