what are you reading?

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what are you reading?

1danielx
okt 1, 2010, 5:46 am

Having just finished the short story collection "The Cosmopolitans," I am now reading a large short story collection "65 Short Stories"

http://www.librarything.com/work/3332777/book/64874281

2Waldstein
Bewerkt: okt 6, 2010, 12:21 pm

Right now I am finishing Bertrand Russell's Sceptical Essays, then a re-reading of Maugham's mature travel books will follow. Heineman nicely collected in one volume in 1955:

http://www.librarything.com/work/6173874/book/51128444

And of course, I will finally give my serious attention to Selina Hastings' ''The Secret Lives of Somerset Maugham'', despite my grave reservations about biographies of Maugham.

3danielx
okt 2, 2010, 12:08 pm

I just got a (used) copy of "More Far Eastern Tales", which as it turns out, has one of my very favorite stories by WSM. "The Outstation" is a masterpiece!

4cornerhouse
Bewerkt: okt 4, 2010, 9:26 am

Among a great many other things not by Maugham, I'm current picking my way through The Skeptical Romancer; it's rather like eating cherries from a enameled bowl.

5TheTortoise
okt 4, 2010, 1:39 pm

I have recently read Selina Hastings new biography of Maugham and followed it up with Somerset Maugham and the Maugham Dynasty by Bryan Connon. I also did a reread of Of Human Bondage, a few weeks ago.

I hope I don't end up looking like the picture of Maugham on the cover of Connon's book - he looks really bitter and twisted! Great writer but not so great a man.

6zasmine
okt 6, 2010, 11:30 am

I can always be re-reading cakes and ale

:)

7Waldstein
okt 6, 2010, 12:16 pm

So can I. And an excellent idea too.

8danielx
okt 12, 2010, 1:55 pm

I have recently finished two short story collections, each of which I would strongly recommend. They are Far Eastern Tales, and More Far Eastern Tales.

9sholofsky
Bewerkt: okt 12, 2010, 8:04 pm

#8 Do either of those contain THE POOL? I can't count how many times I've read that story in my penguin collected stories. The pathos always feels fresh.

10danielx
okt 12, 2010, 8:26 pm

No, it does not. How interesting...l have never heard of The Pool -- it does not even appear in my huge collection of 65 short stories.

http://www.librarything.com/work/3332777/book/64874281

So, I take it this is one of your favorites?

clearly, I have more reading to do!

11rocketjk
okt 14, 2010, 9:10 pm

Hi! I'm new to this group. I read Of Human Bondage for the first time last month. Also, last year I finished working my way through a terrific anthology that Maugham edited: Great Modern Reading: W. Somerset Maugham's Introduction to Modern English and American Literature.

Cheers all!

12danielx
okt 14, 2010, 9:23 pm

welcome, rocketjk !

Of Human Bondage was my first experience with his writing, and it remains my all time favorite. However, lately I've been greatly enjoying his short stories. If you're interested in the latter, might I make a suggestion of Far Eastern Tales?

13rocketjk
okt 15, 2010, 12:53 pm

Thanks for the recommendation, Daniel. I'll be on the look out for that collection. I always enjoy Maugham short stories when they turn up in anthologies.

14danielx
okt 16, 2010, 9:29 am

sholofsky, I just read The Pool -- turns out it is in my large 65 short story collection. Yes, that's a powerful story; I can see why you have liked it so much over the years

15danielx
okt 29, 2010, 12:15 pm

I recently finished Trembling of a Leaf. What a great collection of short stories!

I have started reading the book of essays, Points of View.

16sholofsky
okt 30, 2010, 7:36 am

Been toying with an early unread Maugham for my next read, MERRY-GO-ROUND or THE EXPLORER. Any suggestions? Danielx, Waldstein, anyone? BTW glad you liked TREMBLING, Dan. You're right--great stuff.

17danielx
Bewerkt: okt 30, 2010, 10:26 am

I've read Explorer and to tell the truth, was not terribly impressed; but this is, as you say, an early novel, and I don't know of anyone who would place it among his better works. I'm sure you'll welcome Waldstein's perspective, as he has read them both.

Of course there is much to be said for reading ALL of a great writer's works; it gives the historical backdrop to subsequent works, places the whole body of his work in perspective, and gives greater insight into the writer's development and him/ her as a person. Another writer I follow is Sinclair Lewis, and frankly, most of his many novels are mediocre; but I do not regret reading them, in light of his good works.

18sholofsky
okt 30, 2010, 10:54 am

Thanks, Dan. That's the trouble with deceased writers you admire: once you've read their classics, their fine dishes, what you're left with is their porridge, the early, developmental works. It's the rare writer--Heller, Kesey, Salinger--whose first novel becomes his or her classic work. Certainly not the case with Maugham, who clearly had a lot to learn before producing OF HUMAN BONDAGE. I agree with you about Sinclair Lewis also: though I've only read ARROWSMITH and ELMER GANTRY, I've found his subject matter much more interesting than his writing style, which is pretty clunky. The same, coincidentally, with Upton Sinclair, a writer whose subject matter often paralelled Lewis' and whose writing could be just as lumpy.

19Waldstein
okt 30, 2010, 12:02 pm

Actually, I have never read ''The Merry-Go-Round'', one of the few such things by Maugham on my shelves. Maybe it's time to change that. From what I've heard about it - partly reworking of the plot from ''A Man of Honour'', the charmingly cynical Miss Ley among the characters - it must be an interesting read.

I assume you mean the novel ''The Explorer'', an inordinately available book for an early title by Maugham. It certainly is among Maugham's weakest efforts, but that's to be expected. Not only was it an early work, but it was an ex-play turned into novel in haste and solely for getting some money, as Maugham himself frankly confessed. Moreover, the original play is not an ordinary play but a ''Melodrama in Four Acts'', which explains the nauseatingly sentimental finale of novel as well. The novel is not so bad of course, and the play is probably better for the best in the novel is the dialogue in some of the most dramatic scenes, but both treat Maugham's favourite subjects in a very untypical - melodramatic, that is - light. Interesting as a kind of curious period experiment, especially for ardent fans of Maugham.

Among Maugham's early works I am most fond of ''The Hero'' (1901). It is far from brilliant, of course, but it has a deft satire and some powerful characterisation, if unconvincing finale. Maugham must have been fascinated by the subject of the war veteran who returns home and finds his family totally intolerable: he used a very similar plot for his 1920 play ''The Unknown'' which, while not among his best plays (the finale is again a letdown), is not without merit. They say the infamous line ''And who's going to forgive God?'' was the most scandalous one on the London stage for quite some time. It might have been a kind shock in those days to hear such things from the stage.

Critics usually hate both the novel and the play, and what they consider Maugham's ''early best'' is precisely what I think is his worst: ''Liza of Lambeth'' (1897) and ''Mrs Craddock'' (1902); the former is dead dull and the cockney dialogues are totally unreadable, and the latter has many, many more dull pages than is typical for Maugham. But both are fascinating as period pieces: ''Liza'' as a debut and something (slums) Maugham never wrote again about, and ''Mrs Craddock'' is of course for its much too explicit sexuality - so much so that Heinemann censored it. Even in 1928, when the uncensored original was first published, Maugham could not remember what all the fuss had been about.

But it's a matter entirely of taste, and that's something pefectly unpredictable. I've heard people who think ''The Magician'' (1908) one of Maugham's best novels, a work for which he himself said was totally insincere - but he did reprint in The Collected Edition, and he even wrote a truly compelling ''A Fragment of Autobiography'' as a preface. The first half of the novel is indeed quite good, but the second one is positively weak. And the finale is stupendously ridiculous, kind of cheap horror stuff indeed.

It's funny to reflect upon the diversity of Maugham's early output: a slum novel, a historical novel, a black magic novel, a melodrama, a character novel, and plays ranging from social commedies to tragedies (and one purple, but rather enjoyable, travel book). Yes, ''Of human bondage'' didn't come out of nothing. It is tantalising to speculate on so many things about these early books and plays; for example, if Maugham would, or could, ever have written ''Of human bondage'' at all had he not learned the art of succinctness on the stage?

But the most compelling thing is the evolution of style. From ''Liza'' to ''Of Human Bondage'' is a very long way, and it's even longer until ''Cakes and Ale'' (1930) or ''The Razor's Edge'' (1944). Were these written by one man in several different periods of his life or by three (four?) different men? I don't know.

Yes, there is a touch of sadness when there is nothing by Maugham left unread but few early works, but I can always reread almost anything of his mature works, not just with great pleasure, but with a great deal of profit. Rereading the travel books now, I am just stunned how different they seem to me than some three years ago when I read them for the first time.

20danielx
okt 30, 2010, 1:38 pm

I have a proposal. How about if the three of us, and anyone else interested, read Merry Go Round, and share reactions? I see that it's available cheaply in used condition from Amazon.com, and have just ordered a copy. It's likely to arrive within a week.

21sholofsky
Bewerkt: okt 30, 2010, 4:06 pm

Dan, great idea! It is indeed serendipitous that three such "friends of Maugham" have overlooked the same work. I have my copy on deck. It will take under a week to complete the huge novel I'm reading currently (AMAZING ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER AND CLAY). You'll have your copy by then and we can begin a group read.

#19, Waldstein, thanks for weighing in and adding your usual, impressive erudition. One great aid to, as you say, the appearance of three or four writers at work in the Maugham bibliography had to be what most of us wish for ourselves: longevity. There were indeed at least two Maughams at work when one considers his death at 91 and the fact that, at his birth, the average lifespan was half that.

22suaby
okt 30, 2010, 6:55 pm

Hello everyone,
I just joined this group. I have been a Maugham fan since high school (read the short story "Rain" and was hooked). Quiet a writer and quiet an interesting man---somewhat difficult man at times. I was introduced to one of my favorite writers, Hugh Walpole, after reading the part in Cakes and Ale in which Maugham pilloried Walpole in the character of Roy Kear.
I've not heard of Merry-Go-Round and would love to read it with you guys. (Have to get it on interlibrary loan---hope there is not a deadline on this.)
s4sando

23danielx
okt 30, 2010, 7:12 pm

hello s4sando, and welcome to our group. the more the merrier. We hit on Merry go Round because it's one none of us has read. No, of course there's no deadline; after all, we all have lives to lead. If you're seeking a copy of Merry go Round, there seemed to be several at Amazon.com in paperback, including a recent reprint from about 2001. Hardbacks are more expensive.

there are plenty of other messages and threads here, so feel free to catch up as time permits.

24sholofsky
okt 30, 2010, 7:20 pm

#22 ditto, s4sando, welcome!

25Waldstein
Bewerkt: nov 1, 2010, 4:34 am

I welcome the idea for parallel reading and the absence of deadline, too. I can start the book right away, but I most probably won't be able to finish it before the end of next week, at the earliest. So our time plans more or less coincide. The first to finish may open a new thread dedicated solely to the book.

It might, perhaps, be interesting to remember Maugham's own judgement before we start. From his marvellous preface written in 1934 for the inclusion of his debut novel Liza of Lambeth in The Collected Edition (a preface way more absorbing than the novel indeed!), it is obvious that Maugham regarded the work with certain affection; at least he thought weaving several vastly different plots an interesting, if unsuccessful, experiment. It didn't occur to him at the time that these different plots are unlikely to be of equal interest for the reader, so he thought the work unworthy of reprint in The Collected Edition. (Incidentally, much like the case with ''The Explorer'', after his death Heinemann overruled his decision and ''The Merry-Go-Round'' did appear in the famous edition in 1969.)

It's also interesting to observe that, together with ''Liza'' and ''Mrs Craddock'', ''The Merry-Go-Round'' is one of the most available among Maugham's early works, even though it never had neither the popularity nor the critical attention of the other two. But Vintage did reprint it some ten years ago, and I see in their site that they have just reprinted it again (August 2010):

http://www.vintage-books.co.uk/books/0099288702/w-somerset-maugham/merry-go-roun...

(The cover is totally hideous, alas!)

I am glad that such obscure works of Maugham are still kept in print; likewise his two last (historical) novels which have received what to my mind are inexplicably scathing reviews. Well, now we'll see if they'll survive with the modern reading public.

26danielx
okt 31, 2010, 4:49 pm

assuming my book arrives on time, I won't be able to start it for two weeks, so no hurry from my perspective.

27suaby
okt 31, 2010, 9:11 pm

Waldstein,
I like your idea of starting Merry-Go-Round as each receives the book and the first to finish will then open a new thread dedicated to the book. What do others think about this? I have ordered the book and expect it by mid-week. I'm eager to start. I will keep in mind what you said about the structure of the book. Will these different plots 'weave' together to sustain my own personal interest? Was Maugham right in his assessment of this novel? Availability of the book seems to indicate its merit to some degree.
(I have to agree with you on the Vintage cover!)
s4sando

28sholofsky
nov 1, 2010, 8:27 am

#27, I'll probably start in about a week and a half. How about the first to start opening the thread? That way we can contribute as we move along--being careful of spoilers, of course (maybe we can each announce our progress chapter by chapter). What do you guys think?

29TheTortoise
nov 1, 2010, 8:34 am

I have read 11 or 12 of Maugham's novels but not The Merry-Go-Round so count me in on the Group Read for this one.

- TT

30sholofsky
nov 1, 2010, 8:52 am

Glad to have you aboard, Tortoise!

31danielx
nov 1, 2010, 9:40 am

welcome Tortoise! and nice handle :-)

32Waldstein
Bewerkt: nov 2, 2010, 6:00 am

sholofsky,
Your idea seems better than mine. If there are no objections to it, I can open the new thread immediately, though I have so far read mere three chapters and won't have any time for reading more until the end of this week.

s4sando,
Maugham was probably right is his assessment. He rarely analysed his own works, but when he did he always showed a most remarkable detachment and modesty. I really can't say it better than he did:

I am aware that this preface and those that follow it are egotistic. I hope my egotism is not unseemly. It is not easy to talk of oneself without offence and it may seem to some readers that in these prefaces I have arrogated to myself an importance which is not my due. I beg them to believe that I have no illusions about my position in current literature, and I do not think that I attach an exaggerated value to my works. I know their defects better than any critic.
(1934 Preface for ''Liza of Lambeth'', his first novel and the first volume in The Collected Edition.)

I even came to believe that Maugham himself honestly believed that he is in the second rank. I think he underestimated himself; there should be enough space and diversity in the first rank as to include him.

By the way, I cannot recommend highly enough the above-mentioned preface to all friends of Maugham who haven't read it yet. Together with an unforgettable account of how his debut novel came to be written, Maugham has something to say about each of his early books save the travel one. ''Liza'' is hardly worth reading, for it has only historical significance as his debut, but the preface is worth re-reading again and again, for Maugham's dispassionate self-analysis is a rarity indeed. Only together with this preface is ''Liza'' well worth buying. Apart from old ''The Collected Edition'' hardbacks, the preface is reprinted in the modern Vintage Classics paperbacks.

33suaby
nov 2, 2010, 8:25 am

sholofsky,
I think your idea a good one. Whoever first starts reading Merry-Go-Round will open the thread, then readers will comment as we move along--avoiding "spoliers".
There seems to be four of us who have indicated we will read Merry-Go-Round. Anyone else out there interested? s4sando

34suaby
Bewerkt: nov 2, 2010, 8:33 am

Waldstein,
Thank you so much for the reference to Maugham's Preface to Liza of Lambeth. I will definitely find the entire reference as it seems a rather honest assessment though rather self-effacing. I am always fascinated by what an author thinks of his/her own work and whether I (in my own critical capacity such as it is) agree. Like you, I tend to believe that Maugham underestimated himself. Bravo to your observation viz. "there should be enough space and diversity in the first rank as to include him". (Maugham as first rank author.)

35danielx
nov 2, 2010, 9:44 am

I also like sholofsky's idea. That way those of us who won't be able to start the book won't have to lag behind. People could even write their reactions to, say, the first chapter, first couple chapters, etc.

36sholofsky
nov 2, 2010, 10:45 am

#32, ditto s4sando, Waldstein, thank you for bringing Maugham's prefaces to our attention. I'll have to check, but I don't think any of my editions include them--though, as finances permit, they seem well-worth seeking out for the Maugham commentary alone. It's so refreshing to find an author you can actually trust to weigh in on his own work--compare Maugham, say, to a hopeless egoist like Norman Mailer, totally incapable of the humility and judgement to assess himself, as Maugham did, as being among "the very first row of the second-raters." Such admirable self-effacement notwithstanding, I tend to agree with you, Waldstein and s4: there is certainly room among the first-raters for Maugham. And, please, Waldstein, as we all seem to be in agreement--Tortoise?--for my part, begin the thread at will.

37Waldstein
Bewerkt: nov 2, 2010, 11:49 am

Gentlemen,

I might just as well warn you to be carefull with "Liza of Lambeth", for it seems that most modern paperbacks - even more or less nice ones, not some lousy reprints - actually lack the preface.

If you are keener on searching for old hardbacks - as I am - you should be careful too when booksellers tell you something about a new preface. There are at least two other editions of "Liza" that do have new prefaces, but such that might not be worth acquiring the book for them:

Heinemann, 1930. Travellers' Library Edition. New Preface, but only six pages long, dealing mostly with how the life in the slums changed in the 33 years since "Liza" was first publsihed.

Heinemann, 1947. Jubilee Edition of 1000 copies signed by Maugham. New Preface, but very short and unimportant. Contains also the part of the preface to The Collected Edition that concerns the novel, but omits everything else about other works.

The real thing is The Collected Edition, first published in 1934, which has the preface in question (21 pp.). It is greatly expanded version of the 1930 one and it's been reprinted at least twice (1950, 1951). Unfortunately, it seems that the preface is not as often reprinted in modern editions as it should be. Vintage Classics from 2000 sure has it and so, I suppose, does the new reprint from this year.

38rocketjk
nov 2, 2010, 7:38 pm

Of moderate if incidental interest, maybe . . . I just finished reading a collection of Joseph Conrad's letters to Edward Garnett. Garnett was a reader for publisher T. Fisher Unwin. Garnett suggested Unwin publish Conrad, launching the writer on his famed literary career. Conrad and Garnett remained lifelong friends. Garnett edited Conrad's early works, and later wrote reviews and criticisms of his later work, both privately for Conrad and publicly for print. At any rate, Conrad's letter of October 11, 1897, includes the following . . .

"I own that the Standard's review of Liza amazes me. It is no more than justice, but to think the Standard could see it! It is the Annus Mirabilis. D'you think I will get my share of loaves and fishes? Eh? Well never mind. The book (The Nigger of the Narcissus) is written. What worries me now is the unwritten book."

I have just wasted a whole bunch of time stupidly trying (and failing) to find reference to that Standard review of Liza of Lambeth online to see if it was positive or not. It probably was, as most of the important reviews of the book were admiring, or at least that how most more contemporary essays on the book represent things.

39sholofsky
nov 2, 2010, 8:59 pm

#38, thanks, Jerry. Would be interesting to see Maugham's thoughts on Conrad, both authors having set so much of their work in the tropics. BTW please consider joining our group read of THE MERRY-GO-ROUND...plenty of horses left!

40suaby
nov 7, 2010, 9:16 am

Waldstein,
I finally located a Liza of Lambeth with Maugham's original Preface from my local library. The process of finding the book was almost like a scene from a Maugham novel! The library data base said Liza wasn't available. The reference librarian said the only reference to Liza was in a Maugham biography. We went through the involved process of getting a copy of Liza through interlibrary loan. I then went to the bathroom and, as I usually have my most brilliant throughts there, considered going into the stacks and looking for Liza on the shelf. Lo and behold, there it was! I marched back to the reference desk and produced the book and said: "What gives? How come Liza doesn't appear in the data-base?" Another look. "Oh,", she says," Someone on our staff entered the novel but did not spell the title correctly----Lisa rather than Liza". We looked at the Intro. and saw it was written by Michael Wood. "Well," says I, "go ahead with the interlibrary load". I bicycled home and sat down with a cup of tea (it was a biting, cold afternoon) and opened the book. Right AFTER, Wood's Introduction was Maugham's original Preface!!
So--after all that I now have the Preface plus one coming from interlibaray loan.
You are right. The Preface is really wonderful. In fact, so good I started reading Liza today. It is so short (almost a novella) that I will finish quickly.
My first impression: Interesting, but "funky". I can almost visualize the opening as opera viz. teaming streets, chorus of children and youth, Chorus: "Liza Approaches". Aria by Liza. Organ-grinder dance of Liza and Chorus, etc, etc. But that being said, I am enjoying Liza----maybe because I am in a funky mood.
What's your take on this novel. s6sando

41Waldstein
Bewerkt: nov 8, 2010, 2:21 pm

s4sando,

Your adventures might well make for a fascinating short story titled, say, Liza of a library. I also love the idea for an opera. Keep working on it, I see emerging something at least as good as Puccini's La Boheme. I suggest scoring Jim for baritone and giving Tom a lovely naive tenor part.

I am glad you are enjoying Liza. I found myself almost completely incapable of doing this. So far this is the only book of Maugham that I have read but once in English and have no intention of re-reading, ever. The next most boring books of Maugham I've read, like The Explorer or Mrs Craddock, I would gladly re-read, though not in the near future.

rocketjk, sholofsky,

The Maugham-Conrad subject is rather fascinating, although I don't share the opinions of most biographers (Jeffrey Meyers in particular) that some of Maugham's stories, most notably Mackintosh and The Outstation, are so strongly influenced by Conrad. But I have read very little Conrad so far and that may be the reason. I've been looking through some of the literature about Maugham in order to contribute something to the topic anyway.

My thanks to Mr Meyers, though, that he mentions a very interesting case of Conrad's appeareance in Maugham's fiction I have completely forgotten. In the short story Neil MacAdam from the collection Ah King (1933) there is a curious conversation between the eponymous hero who comes to the tropics knowing Conrad almost by heart and the people with whom he lives there, the museum curator Munro and his Russian (and nymphomaniac) wife Darya. She is also maniac on Russian literature and harshly contemptuous of Conrad calling him ''That Pole'' and ''wordy mountebank'', but both men defend the writer. Neil thinks much of his ability to create an atmosphere:

''There's no one who got atmoshere like Conrad'' said Neil. ''I can smell and see and feel the East when I read him.

Munro's judgement is more sober and surely closer to Maugham's own:

''Of course he was not always accurate,'' said Munro, in his measured, reflective way. ''The Borneo he described is not the Borneo we know. He saw it from the deck of a merchant vessel and he was not an acute observer even of what he saw. But does it matter? I don't know why fiction should be hampered by fact. I don't think it's a mean achievement to have created a country, a dark, sinister, romantic and heroic country of the soul.

Of course it's a very dangerous business to extrapolate a writer's opinions using the characters of his fiction, as pretty much every biographer of Maugham does not know, but in the prefaces to his anthologies there are some bits about Conrad written by Maugham himself. In 1939, in the introduction to Teller of Tales, he was not especially kind:

Conrad rarely wrote anything but short stories, though, being a writer of an exuberant verbosity, he often made them as long as most novels. He needed sea-room. He had little sense of concision. A theme with him was like the stem of a cauliflower; it grew and grew under his active pen until, all its branches headed with succulent flowers, it became very fine but somewhat monstrous plant.

(Jeffrey Meyers quotes part of this in Somerset Maugham: A Life, 2004, but he doesn't think it of any importance to mention the source more accurately than the title of the anthology in the previous sentence.)

Yet Maugham must have had a genuine admiration for the work of Conrad. In the same preface he expresses a very positive opinion of Typhoon which ''shows all his power and none of his weakness'' and he is obviously pleased that the huge size of his anthology allows him to reprint a piece which is not exactly short. Six years earlier Maugham included in Traveller's library (1933) two stories by Conrad: Youth and An Outpost of Progress. The former he was willing to include also in Great Modern Reading (1943) but the limited space of this anthology prevented him from doing so. Maugham mentions this explicitly in the introduction as well as that he considers Youth a significant work of literary value. (I still fail to see that value but that's another story.) Jeffrey Meyers rightly remarks that Great Modern Reading contains no Conrad but he doesn't mention the reference in the preface at all.

If Maugham said in print something else important of Conrad, it escapes me just right now, but in Selina Hastings' recently published The Secret Lives of Somerset Maugham (2009) there is a fascinating passage about Conrad's opinion of Liza, also in a letter but a different one than rocketjk's, which the writer wrote to Fisher Unwin who published The Nigger of the Narcissus in the same year:

There is any amount of good things in the story and no distinction of any kind. It will be fairly successful I believe, for it is a ''genre'' picture without any atmosphere... He just looks on - and that is just what the general reader prefers. The book reminds me of du Maurier's drawings - same kind of art exactly, only in another sphere.

For those who are interested, Selina gives the source of this quote thus:
Davies (eds) The Collected Letters of Joseph Conrad vol. I 1861-1897 (Cambridge University Press 1983) p. 361

As for Edward Garnett, his reader's report in which he recommends the publishing of Liza is well known and quoted by pretty much every biographer of Maugham, Selina included (p. 55 in the paperback version, the chapter At St Thomas's Hospital). Garnett's appreciative judgement was, probably, somewhat decisive for one of Fisher Unwin's other two readers disliked the novel quite a lot. But Garnett called it ''a very realistic study of factory girls and coster life'', he remarked on Maugham's insight and humour, and predicted - quite rightly - that he would be heard of again; he even said flatly that if Fisher Unwin did not publish it someone else certainly would. By the way, this reader's report is reprinted in full in W. Somerset Maugham: The Critical Heritage.

PS I may mention in passing that all of Maugham's prefaces to his own works in The Collected Edition are worth reading and contain lots of interesting biographical and bibliographical details, even though none of them is on the same scale as that to Liza or so much concerned with his early works. Yet, sometimes Maugham did look back at his early attempts and he is sometimes a riot to read in these passages. One of my favourites is the preface to The Trembling of a Leaf (1921) written in 1935 in which he refers to his previous, and first actually, collection of short stories, Orientations (1899):

I read it again the other day. It sent so many cold shivers down my spine that I thought I must be going to have another attack of malaria. As a measure of precaution I dosed myself with quinine and arsenic.

Then Maugham analyses the collection very perceptively indeed, though, again, I think he is too harsh to himself:

The book was reviewed with kindliness and strangely enough it brought me a commission from Punch to write three stories. I suppose those in Orientations showed promise. Reading them five and thirty years later it seemed to me that here and there they were moving, but they had passages so preposterously unreal that I could hardly believe it possible that I had written them. Their worst fault, however, was their superciliousness. In the arrogance of my youth I sneered at everything that offended my fastidious and narrow prejudices.

Such passages have often prompted me to buy a book by Maugham solely for the preface. Rarely have I been disappointed.

Immature and supercilious these pieces may well be, but they still make a pretty good read, especially collected with 11 early short stories more in Seventeen Lost Stories (1969); second hand copies are easy to obtain; have a look.

42rocketjk
nov 8, 2010, 1:28 pm

Wow, Waldstein, that is all fascinating information. My knowledge of Conrad is far, far greater than my knowledge of Maugham (which is almost nonexistent). But if Conrad knew, as he assuredly did, that Garnett was the one who recommended Liza to Fisher Unwin, that tells me the review he was referring to in the letter I cited had to have been a positive one (as he assumes Garnett's agreement with his own opinion), which tells us that Conrad was admiring of Liza as well, for whatever that's worth.

" . . . very fine but somewhat monstrous plant."

That's as good a description of a memorable novel of serious subject matter as one could want, in my view!

43Waldstein
nov 18, 2010, 5:23 pm

The Merry-Go-Round has turned out to be such an exhilarating experience that I have decided, firstly, to finish all of Maugham which is still completely unread on the shelves and, secondly, to re-read The Hero (1901) out of curiosity how it will feel after The Merry-Go-Round and few years after the last, and first, reading.

Otherwise, four early plays are up next:
A Man of Honour (1903)
Loaves and Fishes (1902)
The Tenth Man (1909)
Landed Gentry (1910)

Only the second is an original edition from 1924, all others are reprints (or, in the worst case, a printed PDF).

44danielx
dec 1, 2010, 10:44 pm

I have begun The Gentleman in the Parlour, Maugham's "travel writings" from the trip he took in east Asia (Rangoon to Haiphong). I loved it from the first page!

45suaby
dec 2, 2010, 8:19 am

I'm not sure whether the following needs to be in a new "thread" but in response to "what are you reading?", I would like to suggest the following:

Since some of us (your's truly) have not read much Maugham. Why don't we each choose a Maugham short story (post the title so that everyone knows what each one chose), read and comment. You might only want to limit yourself to your own selection or you might read all the selections mentioned which would obviously generate more discussion. You might want to choose more than one story.

Anyone else interested? O.K., I'll start. I choose
The Lotus Eater.

46suaby
Bewerkt: dec 4, 2010, 9:37 am

O.K. No takers on this. Well, then---here is what I thought about The Lotus Eater.
Who has not, during a visit to a spectacularly beautiful, interesting and historically meaningful place considered chucking current home, job and life to go there and live; entering totally into the essence of the place? How much would you be prepared to give?
The premise of The Lotus Eater centers on the narration of a man,Wilson, outwardly common-place and "prim" who does just that. The setting is the Isle of Capri, the time, before WWI. Leaving his dead-end job in London and the deaths of his wife and daughter, Wilson, liquidates his assets and purchases and annuity that will last precisely 25 years. His Faustian bargain (with himself) is to live frugally but comfortably on the glorious Isle of Capri with leisure to experience the beauty and history of the place until his money runs out (at age 60), then just as he chucked his London life, chuck his own life having had "twenty-five years of perfect happiness (and now) willing to call it a day".
The facts of the story are related to an unnamed narrator who reports the events as they occur. The narrator gradually becomes acquainted with Wilson, Wilson's passions (the history of Rome, the novels of Marion Crawford), Wilson's social interactions (they are few and short-lived) and Wilson's day-to-day activities (swimming, reading, walking, occasional parties). Throughout the narrator is struck with Wilson's ordinariness juxtaposed against his horrific "bargain". I won't go any further with this plot as it would spoil the story for those who have not read it. I will just say, that the ending, for me, was distrubing.
This story affected me strangely. Is there any place on earth that would entice me to enter into such a "bargain"? What price would I be willing to pay for the pursuit of lesiure, natural beauty and literature? To what extent does personal "selfishness" enter into such a situation? Should we expect our inner life and imagination to find fulfillment in a physical place? (Wilson relives the history of Rome at the Isle of Capri. Could he not do as much in suburban London?) Was Wilson's vision totally wrong in that his bargain was the only way to achieve the longings of his inner life? Did Wilson miss totally the importance of friends, personal interactions and focus on the lives and struggles of others?
I am not sure if I can answer any of the above questions. Let's just leave it at Maugham's distrubing (and terrific) story which I hope you will read.

47sholofsky
Bewerkt: dec 4, 2010, 11:24 am

#46 I didn't recall the title of the story S4, but after reading your excellent summation I recall it now when I read all of Maugham's stories some years back (with the exception of the Ashenden series). You're right, it is quite a thought-provoking tale, and even though the ending is expected, Maugham's skill as a story-teller nevertheless makes it devastating. Since you're delving currently into Maugham's short stories, may I suggest my personal favorite, the one I keep re-reading year after year? If you've read it, you know what I mean; if you haven't, it's called THE POOL and is located in the Penguin collection of Maugham tales and the story collection THE TREMBLING OF A LEAF. Fortunately THE TREMBLING OF A LEAF can be accessed for free on Project Gutenberg. I think you'll really enjoy it.

48danielx
dec 4, 2010, 3:07 pm

thank you ss4andro, for your excellent summary and even more, your reaction to it. I think this idea is a great one (of reading stories and writing about them) and hope to contribute.

As for one making such a faustian bargain, I could easily imagine one at age 25 doing so (since the age of 60 seems so remote as to be inconceivable). (And I've known of some who have made equivalent bargains financially, leaving themselves destitute at 65). But that's way off topic, and not quite the point.

I'd forgotten about the Lotus Eater, and your account has led me to plan to reread it in the next day or so, so again, thanks!

49suaby
dec 4, 2010, 3:55 pm

Hey, thanks for your responses. For some reason, the end of The Lotus Eater struck me as hard as the ending of Edith Wharton The House of Mirth. Couldn't stop thinking about it for several days. So many of us are willing to make compromises as to what we think will make us happy---as Maugham relates in his opening paragraph. Wilson didn't make compromises, but then----I won't finish the sentence because others who haven't read this great story need to meet the full impact of the conclusion.
I will surely read The Pool, solofsky. Thanks for the recommendation.

50danielx
dec 4, 2010, 8:24 pm

yes, do read The Pool. Now there's a powerful story!

51suaby
Bewerkt: dec 7, 2010, 9:10 am

I read "The Pool" yesterday and was immediately struck with what I am beginning to suspect is a favorite theme Maugham felt compelled to explore in both novels and short stories i.e. misalliance in marriage. Whether misalliance in the sense of class or misalliance in the sense of culture, the outcome usually (maybe not always?) ends in disaster. But even on a deeper level than unfortuante marriage choices there is a level of mis-communication, mis-understanding of deep personal needs, and mistaking behaviors of the characters among themselves. We're in the realm of "psychological" genres here---and (I confess) this type of literature is my favorite. (One of my face-to-face book groups met last night and we each chose our favorite "read" of the year, among the list of works we had read since Jan. 2010. Mine: The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner by hoggjames::James Hogg. No surprise. It is the only work I ever wrote 7 pages of notes on in preparation for discussion in the group! So---the further I progress in Maugham, the more I understand how his psychological themes speak to my interests. Any why I like him more and more.

52danielx
Bewerkt: dec 7, 2010, 10:09 am

then s4sandro, you have some treats in store for you in upcomng Maugham stories. I nearly envy you for getting to experience them for the first time! If I may offer a suggestion of another "great" story by Maugham with a different take on the theme you mention, do read "Red". It is one of my two all-time favorites of WSM's stories.

53TheTortoise
Bewerkt: dec 7, 2010, 1:34 pm

I shouldn't read these posts, now I have just GOT to read The Lotus Eater, The Pool and Red, haven't I? of course I have! I am sure I have read The Lotus Eater but It was so long ago I have forgotten it. I have bookmarked all three in my Complete Short Stories collection.

Will let you know what I think in a couple of days.

- TT

54suaby
Bewerkt: dec 7, 2010, 6:14 pm

danielx,
I actually completed "Red" a couple of weeks ago in reference to your post on possible gay characters in Maugham's works. The main (in a way Proustian (no kidding!) theme that came through to me was how time can completely upend any strong and well-constructed "memories" we might cherish. Eventually reality steps to the front and we suddenly know we've been kidding ourselves all this time. With the Proust scene in Time Regained, it was as if all the characters were at a masked ball, cleverly disguised as ancient renditions of their true selves. But--hey--that's life and there's nothing we can do about it. In some ways "Red" was more haunting and thought-provoking than "The Pool" which I enjoyed, too.
Yes, Tortoise, please let me know what you think about these stories. Anyone else is, obviously, welcome to comment as well.
Waldstein mentioned "The Voice of the Turtle" in a post on the Music Thread. Sounds intriging and this will be the next short story I read.

55Waldstein
Bewerkt: dec 18, 2010, 8:05 am

I have read Cakes and Ale again - incidentally, but with as great pleasure as ever - together with what the most brilliant Maugham scholars have to say about it. Will try to put some random thoughts of others as well as of mine into some semblance of order until the end of today.

Meanwhile, I spent one evening with Loaves and Fishes, which is apparently the first full length comedy Maugham ever wrote (in 1902/03). The play is indeed described as a ''satire in four acts'' and makes a lot of fun out of the ''Hon. and Rev. Canon Theodore Spratte'', though it is not nearly as devastating as I expected; actually, Canon Spratte got everything his own way and at expence of everybody else. Maugham himself, yet again, has described his work the best of all, even if his claim that the play borders on farce but has some amusing scenes is something of an understatement. The play is indeed a pure farce and there are some hilarious scenes in it, especially in the Fourth act which just short of brilliant (but the other three are all mixed bags so I think Maugham was right in omitting the play from his collected edition).

I am still curious how Maugham novelised the play as The Bishop's Apron. Judging by his reworking of A Man of Honour into one of the subplots of The Merry-Go-Round, the novel would most probably be worth reading - at least as far as I am concerned. That said, I think the short story Cupid and the Vicat of Swale (reprinted in Seventeen Lost Stories) is a much better example of religious satire among Maugham's early works.

Again incidentally, I have re-read Maugham's last full length book, Points of View, first published in his 85th year (1958). I was again annoyed by some longinsh ramblings and digressions but on the whole I have found the book much more compelling than the first time. Being somewhat smitten with Goethe recently, I wanted to read only the first essay (The Three Novels of a Poet) which is dedicated to him and especially to his novels, but got intoxicated with Maugham's voice, as it often happens, and finished all five essays in several evenings.

56danielx
dec 18, 2010, 3:48 pm

I am currently reading the Ashenden stories. These are the short stories WSM wrote on the basis of his experience as a spy in WW1. They are said to be the basis for such later writers as Eric Ambler, John Le Carre, and Ian Flemming.

I find them perfect for a pre-sleep wind-down. Although "The Traitor" strikes a note of terror not entirely compatible with a restful night.

57Waldstein
dec 26, 2010, 9:42 am

Couldn't help myself and re-read Maugham's other typical collection of essays, The Vagrant Mood (1952). I had forgotten, for all their drawbacks, what a great read Maugham's essays make.

58Waldstein
Bewerkt: jan 3, 2011, 8:49 am

Having recently re-read carefully everything Maugham wrote on Henry James, I have come to be sorry for him - for James, not for Maugham. Finally, I decided to read something of him. All I have are two (short) stories in two of Maugham's anthologies: The Beast in the Jungle in Great Modern Reading and The Jolly Corner in Tellers of Tales. I have tried starting the former. I have tried at least five times. Never could I get past the second page. This must be the most discouraging opening paragraph I have ever read:

What determined the speech that startled him in the course of their encounter scarcely matters, being probably but some words spoken by himself quite without intention—spoken as they lingered and slowly moved together after their renewal of acquaintance. He had been conveyed by friends an hour or two before to the house at which she was staying; the party of visitors at the other house, of whom he was one, and thanks to whom it was his theory, as always, that he was lost in the crowd, had been invited over to luncheon. There had been after luncheon much dispersal, all in the interest of the original motive, a view of Weatherend itself and the fine things, intrinsic features, pictures, heirlooms, treasures of all the arts, that made the place almost famous; and the great rooms were so numerous that guests could wander at their will, hang back from the principal group and in cases where they took such matters with the last seriousness give themselves up to mysterious appreciations and measurements. There were persons to be observed, singly or in couples, bending toward objects in out-of-the-way corners with their hands on their knees and their heads nodding quite as with the emphasis of an excited sense of smell. When they were two they either mingled their sounds of ecstasy or melted into silences of even deeper import, so that there were aspects of the occasion that gave it for Marcher much the air of the “look round,” previous to a sale highly advertised, that excites or quenches, as may be, the dream of acquisition. The dream of acquisition at Weatherend would have had to be wild indeed, and John Marcher found himself, among such suggestions, disconcerted almost equally by the presence of those who knew too much and by that of those who knew nothing. The great rooms caused so much poetry and history to press upon him that he needed some straying apart to feel in a proper relation with them, though this impulse was not, as happened, like the gloating of some of his companions, to be compared to the movements of a dog sniffing a cupboard. It had an issue promptly enough in a direction that was not to have been calculated.

What a paragraph, eh! I'm currently bracing myself for another effort one of these days.

If a simple sentence which makes clear sense is likened to a straight rope, then James' prose surely can very accurately be described as an Inca Khipu!

59sholofsky
jan 3, 2011, 11:40 am

Waldstein, you might want to try PORTRAIT OF A LADY by James. Though long, I found it readable (which, as you've discovered, is a big plus for James) and quite enjoyable. His later works, like WINGS OF A DOVE, I found just impossible to get through--with gloppy prose even muddier than the quote you so generously provided. Look at it this way: Henry James only brings further into focus what we love about Maugham.

60cammykitty
jan 4, 2011, 6:43 pm

Waldstein> Ah, yes. I've read both of those. Wouldn't think you would like either of them, but yes, they are Gothic Horror. Turn of a Screw is much better. The language isn't nearly so thick. "The Jolly Corner" though is considered one of his best short stories.

61danielx
Bewerkt: jan 4, 2011, 8:59 pm

my one experience with James was in fact Turn of the Screw. Perhaps I was too young (18) but it was an age at which I could read nearly any English - language fiction (including James Fenimore Cooper). I found it strange and confusing, and was disinclined to delve into Mr James again. Having reached a more mature age, I'm perfectly willing to try again. I just watched two versions of his works as movies (The Golden Bowl, the Europeans) which I rather enjoyed. Of course movies are not books.

62danielx
Bewerkt: jan 4, 2011, 8:58 pm

Interestingly, Waldstein's reported recent experience with James parallels mine with Kipling. Maugham speaks so very higly of Kipling's stories and Kipling as a writer, and edited a volume of his work entitled Maugham's Choice of Kipling's Best, that starts with a wonderful Maugham essay on Kipling's writing. So I began the collection with great anticipation.

whew... I'm finding it tough going. Kipling is of course not held in great favor these days due to his (shall we say) dated perspective on ethnic and gender issues (the white man's burden, etc), but I can put issues like that aside for the sake of appreciating a work in the context of its times. For me, it's Kipling's prose and dialogue that fails to translate into the 21st century. I shall labor on, in hopes of finding more to appreciate, but I can't say I've enjoyed the experience thus far. It's almost enough to make me pick up The Last of the Mohicans for a 4th read.

63cammykitty
jan 4, 2011, 10:02 pm

I grew up on Kipling's poetry, read outloud, and his Just-so-stories. I adore the Just-so-stories, but he makes up words and has such a deliberately inflated style that it is comical. Kipling spent a lot of time in India, & I just started Life of Pi where Martel says that on his first trip to India he was warned that they like words like "bamboozled" which is what Kipling was doing! He was using words that are so idiosyncratic that they are funny. I can't say I really want to read any other works of his though. They are painfully colonial.

As for movies based on James' work, the version I saw of Turn of the Screw was well-done and faithful to the original. James, though, isn't a reading experience I would wish on someone who wasn't a practiced reader... with the exception of the 12 year old I work with who keeps telling me she's going to read War and Peace next. She's a pathetic and copious liar, so she may just be lying, but it would also be like her to run her eyes across all the words and then say she read it, even though she didn't understand or remember any of it.

64sholofsky
jan 4, 2011, 10:03 pm

#62 I've always found Kipling, much like James, to be a variable author--some of the work is rewarding, much of it is not. I recall as a younger reader, greatly enjoying THE JUNGLE BOOK and its sequel; you may want to try these as they avoid much of the jingoism that characterizes some of his other work. It seems that when his stories concentrate solely on the Indian people--their customs, their beliefs--he's much more readable; when he brings in the British army, all kinds of problems start. I tried reading his story collection SOLDIERS THREE recently in preparation for watching the film production--the cockney and other dialects were laid on so thick it was like reading James at his worst; I had to give up; in this case, the film was much better. What Kipling stuff are you reading, Dan?

65rocketjk
jan 4, 2011, 10:13 pm

I like many of Kipling's short stories, but I cannot see his name now without thinking of the Groucho Marx line:

Q: Do you like Kipling?

A: I don't know. I've never kippled.

66danielx
jan 5, 2011, 5:20 pm

the Just So Stories I knew as a kid, and yes, they can be quite entertaining for the younger set. The short stories I'm reading now are replete with the jingoism of which sholfsky speaks. Much of the slang is dated or culture- specific, and doesn't translate readily into a modern idiom.

67danielx
Bewerkt: feb 6, 2011, 9:15 pm

I am reading Liza of Lambeth, and enjoying it! Being a native speaker of English, I find the Cockney not hard to translate. I 'm sure we wouldn't remember the novel if not for the author; however, I was interested to see that the writer of a Monarch Notes of Of Human Bondage considered this as one of his four great novels, above Cakes and Ale.

68Waldstein
feb 7, 2011, 8:55 am

Liza of Lambeth a greater novel than Cakes and Ale?! Life is truly stranger than fiction!

69sholofsky
feb 7, 2011, 9:01 am

#68 Astonished me too. Good to hear from you again, my friend! Hope you had a great holiday.

70suaby
Bewerkt: feb 7, 2011, 11:37 am

#68 But the "article in Monarch Notes": I hardly think we should trouble ourselves over this.

Reading now: Asheden. From the Preface, there is a poignant description of a wounded veteral on a railway platform somewhere in Siberia. He is playing the accordion for loose change from the passengers. The narrator (Maugham evidently) says:

"The soldiers stood silent and hostile. Their attitude seemed to claim as a right the alms of the travelling herd. There was a disdainful anger on their side and unmeaurable pity on ours; but no glimmering of a sense that there was but one way to compensate that helpless man for all his pain."

How are we to take this in a Preface? Reminiscence of the author? Theme of "Ashenden" stories? Something to pique interest? Demonstration of craft of storytelling: "the author has to make it coherent, dramatic and probable"?

Did this actually happen?

71danielx
feb 9, 2011, 10:49 pm

oh, I put no stock in the assessment of the author of the Monarch Notes, even if he was an English professor at the time. But I was pleased to find that Liza was worth reading, if for no other reason than the ending, when Liza dies. Where a lesser author would have grown maudlin or used it as an opportunity to preach morality, Maugham turns it into a cruel farce (Liza's mother and another woman discussing the benefits of different types of coffins... I daresay Dickens would not have gone so far as this!)

72danielx
Bewerkt: feb 16, 2011, 3:55 pm

Nearing the end of his life, Somerset Maugham published a three part series entitled "Looking Back". It appeared only in magazine form, and was never included in any book compilation. The work touches on a number of aspects of his life, but is usually remembered due to his indelicate reflections on his wife and their very unhappy marriage. Our friend Waldstein has written an extended review here

http://www.librarything.com/work/10968315/reviews/70174262

With the help of an archival librarian, I now have Looking Back in PDF form. If someone is interested in receiving a copy, let me know, as I can share it by email. It constututes three separate PDF files.

73Waldstein
apr 28, 2012, 9:47 am

Mrs Craddock and I am surprised how good the book is. Last time I read it it was a chore. This time it reads like a thriller.

From a historical point of view, Mrs Craddock is probably Maugham's most astonishing novel after Of Human Bondage. Considering that it was just his third - written in 1900, afte Liza and one lame (and lurid) historical ''romance'' - it is an amazing step forward. It is no wonder that such fine early novels like The Hero and The Merry-Go-Round came in the next few years.

74danielx
apr 30, 2012, 2:16 am

I rather liked it when I read it last year. I thought it more worthwhile than the critics had said...

75danielx
mei 8, 2012, 12:58 pm

now reading Raymond Stott's Bibliography of the Works of Somerset Maugham -- a flawed but fascinating resource...

http://www.librarything.com/work/10592093/book/85434433

76Waldstein
mei 12, 2012, 12:46 pm

Perhaps we can make a thread to serve as a kind of list of errata about the bibliography, including omissions, later additions and any other comments.

Admittedly, it would be a thread with a very limited appeal, but it might be useful for people who have the bibliography or are dedicated, somewhat passionately, to collecting Maugham's books.

77danielx
mei 13, 2012, 2:58 pm

I would be glad to contribute. I have found a few errors

78Waldstein
Bewerkt: dec 3, 2012, 7:19 pm

I am re-reading Ten Novels and Their Authors. Simply amazing book. It gets better and better with every new re-reading - and this is at least the third one, if not the fifth one for some of the essays. Even the unduly extensive biographical background, which I used to find cumbersome, now makes a compelling read. Who knew - well, I didn't - that the Rev. Patrick Brontë, the father of the celebrated sisters, was such an obnoxious crackpot, to take but a single example.

But this is also a terrible book. It wrecks havoc on my currently-reading list. Maugham is so uncannily inspiring, that after each essay I am convinced that absolutely the next thing I must read is Melville's Moby Dick, or Flaubert's Madame Bovary, or Dickens' David Copperfield, or... For once I consider myself lucky that I have very few books: only 5 out 10. All the same, I have started Moby Dick out of the blue. Wuthering Heights, it seems quite probable, will be next...

79danielx
dec 16, 2012, 1:35 pm

Waldstein, I certainly agree with your opinion of Somerset Maugham's Ten Novels and Their Authors. Of the books you've mentioned, my favorite is Madame Bovary, which I've read 2 times. In fact, there's a new translation out that I hope to get for Xmas.

I started David Copperfield earlier this year, but put it aside. I do plan to get back to it.

80Waldstein
dec 17, 2012, 6:51 am

I had to put aside Mody-Dick for now, although the first few chapters were rather promising. But I will resume Ismael's rambling yet fascinating narrative as soon as possible.

81Waldstein
Bewerkt: jan 28, 2013, 6:00 pm

The ever-watchful Facebook, the most omniscient online entity after Wikipedia, informs me that today is Willie's 139th birthday. I am celebrating it by re-reading the two volumes with his plays selected and introduced by Anthony Curtis (Methuen, 1997; first published by Mandarin, 1991-96). I hope to improve my generic and superficial "review" with a bunch of thoughtful "afterthoughts".

(To tell the truth, the re-reading coincinded with the birthday by sheer accident. A few days ago I finally saw the 1940 movie version of The Letter with Bette Davis. So I wanted to re-read only this one play. But I reckoned without the dramatic part of Willie's genius. I am amazed how well all nine plays hold up; the oldest among them, Lady Frederick, was written 110 years ago.)

PS The volumes in question are these: Maugham Plays: One and Maugham Plays: Two

82danielx
apr 9, 2013, 9:05 pm

thanks for the link. I have yet to purchase his plays, though I have some as e-books. Maybe I will get these volumes, since I do hold Curtis in the highest regard...

83Waldstein
Bewerkt: mrt 7, 2021, 12:36 pm

Celebrating the centenary of Of Human Bondage by re-reading the novel and comparing it with four abridged versions, one on paper by the author himself and three on the screen by various scriptwriters, directors and casts. It remains to be seen if I will complete the celebration until Christmas...

84LesMiserables
mrt 4, 2021, 4:48 am

Enjoying tremendously my first Maugham: halfway through Razor's Edge.

85danielx
apr 29, 2021, 10:01 pm

>84 LesMiserables: you have many a treat in store. Personally, I love Of Human Bondage best, followed by his short stories.

86Waldstein
mei 3, 2021, 2:18 pm

>84 LesMiserables: Always great to see new readers of Maugham. Hope you'll read more and find the experience rewarding.