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This bio reads like research notes that must be turned
over to a Writer. Unfortunately, they weren't. It's an
appalling hiccough of facts (3 stars) ; as bio 'art' it's
1-star. Another example of a greasy whopper burger in
which the author throws everything onto the griddle.
MOMs life could make a 1/2 dozen novels. I don't think
the author cared for MOM at all, but he got a fattie
contract from the publisher and needed the loot. Baaad.
over to a Writer. Unfortunately, they weren't. It's an
appalling hiccough of facts (3 stars) ; as bio 'art' it's
1-star. Another example of a greasy whopper burger in
which the author throws everything onto the griddle.
MOMs life could make a 1/2 dozen novels. I don't think
the author cared for MOM at all, but he got a fattie
contract from the publisher and needed the loot. Baaad.
Ted Morgan
Maugham: A Biography
Triad/Granada, Paperback, 1981.
First published in 1980
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ted Morgan's work is spectacular as a research. The whole, long and varied, life of Somerset Maugham is there, year by year, month by month, even week by week sometimes, compiled from numerous meticulously numbered sources. The style is gripping, gossiping and absorbing. It's a very enjoyable read, even if Mr Morgan could have saved some nasty...more
Maugham: A Biography
Triad/Granada, Paperback, 1981.
First published in 1980
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ted Morgan's work is spectacular as a research. The whole, long and varied, life of Somerset Maugham is there, year by year, month by month, even week by week sometimes, compiled from numerous meticulously numbered sources. The style is gripping, gossiping and absorbing. It's a very enjoyable read, even if Mr Morgan could have saved some nasty...more
2 likes · like · see review
This was fairly enjoyable to read just as a story. I cannot help thinking that Morgan disliked Maugham. He (Morgan) has an active and vigorous mind, though, and I cannot help thinking this might have worked better as a scholarly text, as his noting of Maugham's themes and such is quite astute. Maugham led a long life, and as someone who is transcribing his letters it was useful -- just in terms of names. Morgan, it seems, hated Alan Searle, but I don't know. So much of biography is just story, a...more
I'm sorry I had to give up on this one though I did like Ted Morgan's "Literary Outlaw" about the life and times of Wm. S. Burroughs. This biography suffers from what some biographies succumb to - the biographer's desire to include TOO much detail. While it is admirable that some biographers wish to document the minutiae of their subject's lives I firmly believe that good biography should read like good literature. It should not only illuminate the subject, but also, by holding the candle to the...more
I enjoyed reading this book. I have read many of Maugham's books and unusually for me, I knew little about him as a person before. This book is an interesting read about difficult to understand man.
The best biography of the writer who critics and other writers regarded as the best in the English language over Maugham's extraordinarily long three-generation writing career.
I have to admit I got through 400 pages out of 620, but somewhere between 1927 and 1940, in the wilds of Chapter 14, I put the book down and never continued the journey.
Maugham's biography. Nice and informative, but not the most exiting reading I've had.
read as backgound for Of Human Bondage.
It read a bit like Entertainment Tonight.
It read a bit like Entertainment Tonight.
This was a hard book to read. Over 600 pages of daily life, mostly revolving around Maugham's embarrassment of his homosexuality due to the social pressures of the Victorian and Edwardian eras, his vindictive personality and general self-loathing. I enjoy his books so much, but he was really messed up.
Although others did not like the writing style, I enjoyed the straight writing style. An interesting biography about a man I would not like to meet.
Apr 23, 2013
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Born St. Charles Armand Gabriel, Comte de Gramont; he used the name Sanche de Gramont for a byline until he had his name legally changed to Ted Morgan in 1977; came to the United States in 1937, naturalized in February, 1977. He won the Pulitzer Prize, 1961, for local reporting written under pressure of a deadline; National Book Award finalist, 1982, for Maugham.
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28 nov. 17:30
~~ Critics w bios in hand seem to think the bigger t...more
28 nov. 17:44