W. Somerset Maugham

W. Somerset Maugham’s Followers (6,067)

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W. Somerset Maugham


Born
in British Embassy, Paris, The United Kingdom
January 25, 1874

Died
December 16, 1965

Genre

Influences


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
...more

Average rating: 4.06 · 297,902 ratings · 26,580 reviews · 2,118 distinct worksSimilar authors
Of Human Bondage

4.16 avg rating — 61,446 ratings — published 1915 — 1112 editions
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The Razor’s Edge

4.20 avg rating — 53,775 ratings — published 1944 — 20 editions
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The Painted Veil

3.98 avg rating — 51,598 ratings — published 1925 — 5 editions
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The Moon and Sixpence

4.12 avg rating — 27,120 ratings — published 1919 — 3 editions
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Theatre

4.17 avg rating — 9,639 ratings — published 1937 — 153 editions
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Up at the Villa

3.74 avg rating — 8,474 ratings — published 1941 — 113 editions
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Cakes and Ale

3.77 avg rating — 7,931 ratings — published 1930 — 278 editions
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The Magician

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3.58 avg rating — 5,400 ratings — published 1908 — 1259 editions
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Ashenden

3.86 avg rating — 4,068 ratings — published 1927 — 235 editions
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Christmas Holiday

3.73 avg rating — 3,218 ratings — published 1939 — 116 editions
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More books by W. Somerset Maugham…

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Quotes by W. Somerset Maugham  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.”
W. Somerset Maugham

“To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all the miseries of life.”
W. Somerset Maugham, Books and You

“The great tragedy of life is not that men perish, but that they cease to love.”
W. Somerset Maugham

Polls

108466
What book do you want to read for the Classic Book Group Read for the period of October through December 2014?

The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham
The Painted Veil, by W. Somerset Maugham
Set in England and Hong Kong in the 1920s, The Painted Veil is the story of the beautiful but love-starved Kitty Fane.

When her husband discovers her adulterous affair, he forces her to accompany him to the heart of a cholera epidemic. Stripped of the British society of her youth and the small but effective society she fought so hard to attain in Hong Kong, she is compelled by her awakening conscience to reassess her life and learn how to love.

The Painted Veil is a beautifully written affirmation of the human capacity to grow, to change, and to forgive.
 
  20 votes, 41.7%

The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, by Howard Pyle
He stole from the rich and gave to the poor, and in so doing became an undying symbol of virtue. But most important, Robin Hood and his band of Merry Men offer young readers more than enough adventure and thrills to keep them turning the pages. Who could resist the arrows flying, danger lurking, and medieval intrigue?
 
  14 votes, 29.2%

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
Wuthering Heights, by Emily Brontë
Wuthering Heights is a wild, passionate story of the intense and almost demonic love between Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff, a foundling adopted by Catherine's father. After Mr Earnshaw's death, Heathcliff is bullied and humiliated by Catherine's brother Hindley and wrongly believing that his love for Catherine is not reciprocated, leaves Wuthering Heights, only to return years later as a wealthy and polished man. He proceeds to exact a terrible revenge for his former miseries. The action of the story is chaotic and unremittingly violent, but the accomplished handling of a complex structure, the evocative descriptions of the lonely moorland setting and the poetic grandeur of vision combine to make this unique novel a masterpiece of English literature.
 
  14 votes, 29.2%

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Topics Mentioning This Author

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75 Books...More o...: This topic has been closed to new comments. Authors you love 17 2304 Jan 27, 2009 04:14AM  
Listomania: Somerset Maugham's Top Ten 1 231 Aug 14, 2009 07:51AM  
The Next Best Boo...: January's Group Reads Are..... 91 503 Jan 12, 2010 07:43AM  
The Next Best Boo...: February's WINNERS ARE..... 102 509 Feb 01, 2010 01:13PM  
The Seasonal Read...: This topic has been closed to new comments. 5.10 ("The important thing is not what they think of me, but what I think of them.") 29 174 Apr 19, 2010 12:20PM  
Book Buying Addic...: Titles A-Z Game 684 818 Apr 21, 2010 07:20PM  
The Seasonal Read...: This topic has been closed to new comments. Spring Challenge 2010 Completed Tasks 2717 2510 May 31, 2010 09:00PM  
Cover to Cover Ch...: Read-A-Thon Progress and Discussion -- June 41 44 Jun 25, 2010 10:34AM