BIOGRAPHY
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Somerset Maugham — September 1997 marked the 100th anniversary of the publication of W.
Somerset Maugham's first novel, Liza of Lambeth. Written during his final
year of medical school, the realistic novel draws upon his experiences in
treating patients from the Lambeth slums of London. The book achieved modest
public acclaim—even notoriety—sufficient, in fact, for Maugham to abandon his
medical career to become a full-time writer. A year after his publishing
debut, he left London for Capri in Italy, beginning a lifelong pattern of
travel and story-telling that became the Maugham persona for millions of
readers. Over the next 60 years, he became one of the most successful writers
of all time. When Maugham was born—in the British Embassy in Paris in 1874—he was
destined to become a lawyer. His father and grandfather had been prominent
attorneys, and his oldest brother went on to become England's Lord
Chancellor. However, Maugham had a severe stammer, which left him afraid to
speak; so there were no plans for him to following the family tradition.
Furthermore, he was orphaned by the age of 10 and was sent to England to be
raised by an uncle, a clergyman. These circumstances led the young Maugham to
be shy and withdrawn; consequently he became an observer rather than an
active participant, but he was able to turn this to his advantage as a
writer. The unhappiness and anxiety of his early life were recounted in his autobiographical
novel, Of Human Bondage (1915), in which his stammer became a deformed
foot for the protagonist. It is not widely known today that Maugham realized his first major
success not as a novelist or short story writer but as a playwright. After Liza
of Lambeth, he spent 10 years turning out unsuccessful novels, short
stories, and plays. An admirer of Ibsen, he wanted to write dramas
confronting social issues of the day. His first produced play, A Man of
Honour (1903), a starkly realistic drama of the consequences of misguided
virtue, had little success. This play's distinction today is for the
collector, and Maugham later referred to it as his scarcest work. The most
readable novel from this early period is probably Mrs.Craddock (1902),
with its theme of a woman's liberation from traditional Victorian society. The
Magician (1908) is based on mystic Aleister Crowley. Maugham and Crowley
had met and taken an instant dislike to each other. In Crowley's The Diary
of a Drug Fiend he refers to Maugham's portrayal of him as
"malignant." However in 1907, Maugham achieved the fame and success that he had worked
for. Since his early writing was described by critics as gloomy and
depressing, he tried his hand at lighter social themes.Lady Frederick
(1907), the story of a high society lady who tries to discourage a persistent
young suitor, was an instant success with a long run in London's West End. By
1908, he had four plays running simultaneously in London. With the exception
of Of Human Bondage, Maugham did not return to writing novels or short
stories for more than 10 years. He became a man-about-town, the successful,
rich, and witty satirist of British society. In 1917 Maugham took the first of many long trips to the Pacific Islands
and the Far East, which resulted in some of his finest writing. The first of
these stories was The Moon and Sixpence (1919), a novel based on the
life of Gauguin. He wrote highly readable travel books—On a Chinese Screen
(1923) and The Gentleman in the Parlour (1930)—and several collections
of short stories. The Trembling of a Leaf (1923) contained his most
recognized story, "Rain," and The Casuarina Tree (1926) is
one of the "Connolly 100." Maugham continued to write successful
plays, at least one, The Letter (1927), with a Far East setting. He
returned to social criticism with more success—and more controversy—than
earlier in his career with dramas such as The Unknown (1920), The
Sacred Flame (1928), and For Services Rendered (1932). His last
play Sheppey, was written in 1933. Maugham published Ashenden in
1928, a group of short stories based on his experience as a British espionage
agent during World War I. For the first time, a spy was portrayed as
gentlemanly, sophisticated, and aloof. Ian Fleming, later a friend of
Maugham, said that Ashenden influenced his own writing of spy stories.
Sometimes Maugham's stories were thinly disguised episodes involving his
host or others he had met on his travels—circumstances that occasionally
resulted in threats and lawsuits. The Painted Veil(1925) was revised
at least twice to eliminate references to people still living in Hong Kong,
and the various issues of this book remain of great interest to Maugham
collectors. Wilmon Menard, an American writer, followed Maugham's footsteps
throughout the Far East, interviewing those who had known and entertained
Maugham. Menard's book, The Two Worlds of Somerset Maugham(1965),
makes interesting reading. In 1927, Maugham left England amid scandal and moved to France, where he
spent the rest of his life. Although he had married the popular Syrie
Wellcome, Maugham throughout his marriage (and known to his wife) had
maintained a relationship with an American man, Gerald Haxton. By 1927, the
situation had become intolerable to Syrie, and they were divorced. Maugham
bought a villa in Cap Ferat on the French Riviera, and Haxton, who had been
deported from England, joined him there. Maugham enjoyed a royal lifestyle at
the Villa Mauresque, and an invitation by Maugham to spend a few weeks there
was highly prized by the literary and social elite. In spite of his
relocation, he continued his disciplined habit of writing several hours every
morning and his love of travel. Maugham visited Chicago several times and once gave a lecture at the
University of Chicago. His former wife, Syrie, was a very successful interior
designer and had a studio on Michigan Avenue in the 1920s. Several of
Maugham's stories have Chicago settings, including his last successful novel,
The Razors Edge(1944), which continues to appeal to new generations of
readers. During World War II, Maugham lived in the United States and became a
popular figure in Hollywood. Many of his stories and plays have been—and
continue to be—made into motion pictures. "Rain" was filmed three
times with Sadie Thompson first portrayed by Gloria Swanson, then by Joan
Crawford, and finally by Rita Hayworth. After the war, Maugham returned to
the Villa Mauresque, where he continued to write and entertain the rich and
famous. He died in 1965 at the age of 91. The Maugham persona of the
sophisticated world traveler and story teller, rather than the social
dramatist, is his legacy. Maugham First Editions Novels Short Story Collections Plays Travel Books Essays, Memoirs |
Published in September 1997 by Craig Showalter (Caxton Club of Chicago)
© http://www.caxtonclub.org/reading/smaugham.html
Other biographies: Next [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
Academic year 2008/2009
© a.r.e.a./Dr.Vicente Forés López
© Saturnino Figueroa Guerola
safigue@alumni.uv.es
Universitat de València Press