The Secret Lives of Somerset Maugham

The Secret Lives of Somerset Maugham PDF Author: Selina Hastings
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1611457041
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 914

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Book Description
He was a brilliant teller of tales, one of the most widely read authors of the twentieth century, and at one time the most famous writer in the world, yet W. Somerset Maugham’s own true story has never been fully told. At last, the truth is revealed in a landmark biography by the award-winning writer Selina Hastings. Granted unprecedented access to Maugham’s personal correspondence and to newly uncovered interviews with his only child, Hastings portrays the secret loves, betrayals, integrity, and passion that inspired Maugham to create such classics as The Razor’s Edge and Of Human Bondage. Portrayed in full for the first time is Maugham’s disastrous marriage to Syrie Wellcome, a manipulative society woman who trapped Maugham with a pregnancy and an attempted suicide. Hastings also explores Maugham’s many affairs with men, including his great love, Gerald Haxton, an alcoholic charmer. Maugham’s work in secret intelligence during two world wars is described in fascinating detail—experiences that provided the inspiration for the groundbreaking Ashenden stories. From the West End to Broadway, from China to the South Pacific, Maugham’s remarkably productive life is thrillingly recounted as Hastings uncovers the real stories behind such classics as Rain, The Painted Veil, Cakes & Ale, and other well-known tales.

The Secret Lives of Somerset Maugham

The Secret Lives of Somerset Maugham PDF Author: Selina Hastings
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1611457041
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 914

Get Book Here

Book Description
He was a brilliant teller of tales, one of the most widely read authors of the twentieth century, and at one time the most famous writer in the world, yet W. Somerset Maugham’s own true story has never been fully told. At last, the truth is revealed in a landmark biography by the award-winning writer Selina Hastings. Granted unprecedented access to Maugham’s personal correspondence and to newly uncovered interviews with his only child, Hastings portrays the secret loves, betrayals, integrity, and passion that inspired Maugham to create such classics as The Razor’s Edge and Of Human Bondage. Portrayed in full for the first time is Maugham’s disastrous marriage to Syrie Wellcome, a manipulative society woman who trapped Maugham with a pregnancy and an attempted suicide. Hastings also explores Maugham’s many affairs with men, including his great love, Gerald Haxton, an alcoholic charmer. Maugham’s work in secret intelligence during two world wars is described in fascinating detail—experiences that provided the inspiration for the groundbreaking Ashenden stories. From the West End to Broadway, from China to the South Pacific, Maugham’s remarkably productive life is thrillingly recounted as Hastings uncovers the real stories behind such classics as Rain, The Painted Veil, Cakes & Ale, and other well-known tales.

W. Somerset Maugham

W. Somerset Maugham PDF Author: Archie Krug Loss
Publisher: Frederick Ungar
ISBN:
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 164

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Book Description


A William Somerset Maugham Encyclopedia

A William Somerset Maugham Encyclopedia PDF Author: Samuel Rogal
Publisher: Greenwood
ISBN: 0313299161
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Provides information on Maugham's life and career. Discusses important biographical and literary events in the author's life.

A Bibliography of the Works of W. Somerset Maugham

A Bibliography of the Works of W. Somerset Maugham PDF Author: Raymond Toole-Stott
Publisher: London : Kaye & Ward
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 342

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Book Description


Ashenden

Ashenden PDF Author: W. Somerset Maugham
Publisher: Standard Ebooks
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 286

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Book Description
During World War I W. Somerset Maugham, already by then an established playwright and author, was recruited to be a British intelligence agent. These stories reflect his wartime experiences in intelligence gathering. Though fictionalized, they managed to retain enough authentic elements for Winston Churchill to advise Maugham that their publication might be a violation of the Official Secrets Act, resulting in the author burning an additional 14 stories. Set in various locales across the continent, these remaining Ashenden stories are a precursor to the jet-setting spy novels of the 1950s and 1960s. Maugham is known as a master short story writer and these stories are no exception, combining wit and realism to create memorable characters in a unique and highly critical portrait of wartime espionage. Initially released to a mixed reception—with an early review by D. H. Lawrence being especially scathing—Ashenden has since been credited as an inspiration for numerous authors, including John Le Carré, Graham Greene, and Raymond Chandler. The latter in particular was especially impressed, writing in 1950, “There are no other great spy stories—none at all. I have been searching and I know.” This book is part of the Standard Ebooks project, which produces free public domain ebooks.

The Making of a Saint...

The Making of a Saint... PDF Author: William Somerset Maugham
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 370

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Book Description


A Man of Honour

A Man of Honour PDF Author: William Somerset Maugham
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : English drama (Tragedy)
Languages : en
Pages : 258

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Book Description


Ah King

Ah King PDF Author: William Somerset Maugham
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : British
Languages : en
Pages : 364

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Michael Tippett

Michael Tippett PDF Author: Oliver Soden
Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson
ISBN: 1474606040
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 781

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Book Description
'A delight to read' Philip Pullman 'Essential reading ... a genuine landmark publication' Tom Service A BBC Radio 4 'Book of the Week' The music of the British composer Michael Tippett - including the oratorio A Child of Our Time, five operas, and four symphonies - is among the most visionary of the twentieth century. But little has been written about his extraordinary life. In this long-awaited first biography, Oliver Soden weaves a century-spanning narrative of epic scope and penetrating insight. His achievement is to have enriched our understanding not only of Tippett but of the twentieth century. Figures such as T.S. Eliot, E.M. Forster, Barbara Hepworth, and W.H. Auden jostle in the cast list. An Edwardian world of gaslight and empire cedes to turmoil and warfare and his operas' game-changing attitudes to gay and civil rights, against a backdrop of the Cold War and the Space Race. The result is a landmark in the study of twentieth-century culture, simultaneously an astonishing feat of scholarship and a story as enthralling as in any great novel.

W. Somerset Maugham

W. Somerset Maugham PDF Author: Stanley Archer
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 158

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Book Description
This is the only series to provide in-depth critical introductions to major modern and contemporary short story writers worldwide. Each volume offers: -- A comprehensive overview of the artist's short fiction -- including detailed analyses of every significant story -- Interviews, essays, memoirs and other biographical materials -- often previously unpublished -- A representative selection of critical responses -- A comprehensive primary bibliography, a selected bibliography of important criticism, a chronology of the artist's life and works and an index