While maugham analyzes his work in drama and fiction, this is far more. Maugham pithily summed up the evolution of critical judgment on his career with a succession of. It is autobiographical in nature, though most of the work is concerned with maugham s unique and fascinating opinions on the theatre, writing, metaphysics and the interesting people he encountered in his long and successful career. Autobiographical without being an autobiography, confessional without disclosing his private self, the summing up, written when maugham was sixtyfour, is an inimitable expression of a personal credo. Despite his popularity, maugham did not gain serious recognition. The summing up is available for download as a chapter in mr. Commercial success with high book sales, successful theatre productions and a string of film adaptations, backed by astute stock market investments, allowed maugham to live a very comfortable life. I also couldnt resist sharing this little extract from the opening chapter of the summing up. He was educated at kings school, canterbury, and at heidelberg university. The summing up quotes showing 1 of every production of an artist should be the expression of an adventure of his soul.
Somerset maugham the summing up is a literary memoir by w. Somerset maugham audiobooks download instantly today. Somerset maugham 18471965 rain charts the moral disintegration of a missionary attempting to convert a pacific island prostitute named sadie thompson. Of course, his life was far from overhe was to live a further twentyseven years.
Somerset maugham looks back at his life in literature. Somerset maugham, who once said, to acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all the miseries of life. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read the summing up. Somerset maugham s general books are fewer in number. This was expressed in his autobiography the summing up 1938, that he stood in the very first row of the secondraters. One of maugham s most famous short stories, rain unfolds in a soggy tropical paradise marred by selfrighteous hypocrites trying to force their moral beliefs on a girl who basically just wants to have fun. Maugham collected his literary experiences in the summing up, which has been used as a guidebook for creative writing. Somerset maugham is one of the bestloved short story writers of the last 100 years. Somerset maugham was wellplaced to come up with his wonderful description of the french riviera a sunny place for shady people. The summing up represents maugham s life and philosophy in his own words. While his plays, short stories and novels earned him worldwide fame, his essays stand up best, and this book shows his talents at their finest. Somerset maugham so couldnt resist this little gem found in a charity shop and im happy to say that willie didnt let me down right from the start. In maugham s lifetime, as his civilization slowly disappeared, people from all walks of life, the proud, the urbane, the crude, and the desperate, passed beneath the lens of his dispassionate scrutiny. The summing up is a literary memoir of the first rank.
A rare glimpse into the life and mind of one of the most enigmatic of 20th century authors. Somerset maugham s novels by nasrullah mambrol on may 24, 2019 0. Maugham has written an account of himself, his chosen profession and its practitioners. Somerset maugham, written when he was 64 years old, first published in 1938. He studied medicine and officially qualified as a doctor before turning to writing. Does anyone have an online text of the summing up by w. It is not a confession you would never get that from him but it is a very self perceptive narrative of his life as a writer. Inspired by the life of artist paul gauguin, the moon and sixpence is the complex story of charles strickland, a man who abandons his family and his secure life as an english businessman to pursue an uncertain but meaningful existence as an artist. I only came to see what seats had been sent to the dennorants. Indeed, maugham read philosophy every morning when he woke up, the way others might do yoga. Somerset maugham 18741965 lived in paris until he was ten. Somerset maugham audio books william somerset maugham 18741965 was born in paris, the son of a british embassy official, and grew up in england. The author shares his experience of a lifetime and his ideas with clarity and conviction.
Although the summing up must be classified as autobiography, in only a very few of the seventyseven sections into which it is divided is the author concerned with the listing of facts and events. Whether youve loved the book or not, if you give your honest and detailed thoughts then people will find new books that are right for them. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the summing up. Somerset maugham 25 january 1874 16 december 1965 william somerset maugham was born at the british embassy in paris, france, where his father was an english lawyer handling the legal affairs of the british embassy. William somerset maugham 1874 1965 was born at the height of british imperial power. Rain by william somerset maugham on free audio book download. William somerset maugham theatre i the door opened and michael gosselyn looked up. The subject matter includes his childhood, his initial success in theater, his transition from theater to fiction writing, and other miscellaneous topics such as travel, and philosophy. He was among the most popular writers of his era, and reputedly, the highest paid author during the 1930s. Somerset maugham, who died several months ago a few weeks before his 92nd birthday, may have fallen less easily into his final sleep had he read wilmon menards the two worlds of somerset maugham, which was published early last. In the summing up maugham also deftly uses the opportunity to speak quite a bit about another of his favourite themes.
Thomass hospital with a view to practice in medicine, but the success of his first novel, liza of lambeth 1897, won him over to letters. William somerset maugham was an english playwright, novelist and short story writer. When he died, the british empire was all but a memory. He was among the most popular writers of his era and reputedly the highestpaid author during the 1930s. At a running time of approximately 1 34 hours, it is too long for inclusion in a short story collection. Get your kindle here, or download a free kindle reading app. As 9 melhores imagens em somerset maugham escritores, fotos. My favourite passage is his essay on the anatomy of good writing, but others stand out as well. Other readers will always be interested in your opinion of the books youve read. British novelist, playwright, shortstory writer, highest paid author in the world in the 1930s. Some novelists i have known from the vagrant mood mr.
Please find the link on the free ebook nonfiction page. Somerset maugham, was an english playwright, novelist, and short story writer. If you wantto know more about the real maugham read selina hastings book the secret lives of william somerset maugham. They include travel books, such as on a chinese screen 1922 and don fernando 1935, essays, criticism, and the selfrevealing the summing up 1938 and a writers notebook 1949. With the experienced actresss instinct to fit the gesture to the. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Somerset maugham s 25 january 1874 16 december 1965 twenty novels are exceptionally uneven. His utmost sincerity opens the way to our own understanding, for example the understanding of religious concepts all to hastily accepted by our fearful minds. In this collection of his finest short work maugham takes the listener to the sundrenched pacific islands where the governor mercilessly abuses the inhabitants. Maughamthis is not an autobiography nor is it a book of recollections. Maugham definition, english novelist, dramatist, and shortstory writer. Somerset maugham william somerset maugham and other ebooks from all genres of literature, both fiction and nonfiction, historical documents and sheet music, all of which are available on a subscription basis. Introduction by an excerpt from wikipedia first page. The summing up is rare among literary autobiographies for its scope and honesty.
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