William Somerset Maugham was born on January 25, 1874 at the British Embassy in Paris. This birth of a child was planned rather than accidental. Because at that time a law was written in France, the essence of which was that all young men born on French territory had to be drafted into the army upon reaching adulthood. Naturally, the very thought that their son, with English blood flowing in his veins, could soon join the ranks of the army that would fight against England frightened the parents and required decisive action. There was only one way to avoid this kind of situation - by giving birth to a child on the territory of the English embassy, which, according to existing laws, was equivalent to birth on the territory of England. William was the fourth child in the family. And from the very early childhood he was predicted to have a future as a lawyer, because both his father and grandfather were prominent lawyers, two brothers later became lawyers, and the most successful was the second brother, Frederick Herbert, who later became Lord Chancellor and Peer of England. But, as time has shown, the plans were not destined to come true.
Being born in Paris could not but affect the child. For example, a boy up to the age of eleven spoke only French. And the reason that prompted the child to start learning English was sudden death his mother Edith died of consumption when he was eight, and his father died two years later. As a result, the boy finds himself in the care of his uncle Henry Maugham, who lived in the city of Whitstable in England, in the county of Kent. My uncle was a parish priest.
This period of life was not happy for little Maugham. My uncle and his wife were very callous, boring and rather stingy people. The boy also faced an acute problem of communicating with his guardians. Without knowing English language, he could not establish relationships with new relatives. And, in the end, the result of such ups and downs in the young man’s life was that he began to stutter and Maugham would have this disease for the rest of his life.
William Maugham was sent to study at the Royal School, which was located in Canterbury, an ancient town located southeast of London. And here little William had more reasons for concern and worry than for happiness. He was constantly teased by his peers for his natural short stature and stuttering. English with a distinctive French accent was also a reason ridicule.
Therefore, moving to Germany in 1890 to study atHeidelberg University was an indescribable, indescribable happiness. Here he finally begins to study literature and philosophy, trying with all his might to get rid of his inherent accent. Here he will write his first work - a biography of the composer Meyerbeer. True, this essay will not cause a “storm of applause” from the publisher and Maugham will burn it, but this will be his first conscious attempt at writing.
In 1892, Maugham moved to London and entered medical school. This decision was not caused by a craving or inclination towards medicine, but was made only because a young man from a decent family needed to get some more or less decent profession, and his uncle’s pressure also had an influence in this matter. He would subsequently receive a diploma as a physician and surgeon (October 1897), and even work for some time at St. Thomas's Hospital, which was located in one of the poorest areas of London. But the most important thing for him during this period was literature. Even then he clearly understands that this is precisely his calling and at night he begins to write his first creations. On weekends, he visits theaters and the Tivoli music hall, where he will watch all the performances that he could watch from the very back seats.
We will later see the period of life associated with his medical career in his novel “Lisa of Lambeth,” which was published by"Fischer An Win" will be released in 1897. The novel was accepted by both professionals and the general public. The first editions sold out in a matter of weeks, which gave Maugham confidence in the correctness of his choice towards literature rather than medicine.
1898 reveals William Maugham Somerset as a playwright, he writes his first play “Man of Honor”, which will premiere on the stage of a modest theater only five years later. The play did not cause any furor, it was performed only for two evenings, and the reviews from critics were, to put it mildly, terrible. In fairness, it is worth noting that later, a year later, Maugham would remake this play, radically changing the ending. And already in the commercial theater The Avenue Theater will perform the play more than twenty times.
Despite his relatively unsuccessful first experience in drama, within ten years William Somerset Maugham would become a widely known and recognized playwright.
The comedy Lady Frederick, which was staged in 1908 on the Court Theater stage, enjoyed particular success.
A number of plays were also written that raised issues of inequality in society, hypocrisy, and corruption of representatives different levels authorities. These plays were received by society and critics differently - some sharply criticized them, others praised them for their wit and theatricality. However, despite the mixed reviews, it should be noted that on the eve of the First World War, Maugham Somerset became a recognized playwright, whose works were successfully staged both in England and abroad.
At the beginning of the war, the writer served with the British Red Cross. Subsequently, employees of the well-known British intelligence service MI5 recruit him into their ranks. So the writer becomes an intelligence officer and goes first to Switzerland for a year and then to Russia to carry out a secret mission, the purpose of which was to prevent Russia from leaving the war. He met with such famous political players of the time as A.F. Kerensky, B.V. Savinkov. etc.
Later, S. Maugham would write that this idea was doomed to failure and he turned out to be a poor agent. The first positive aspect of this mission was Maugham’s discovery of Russian literature. In particular, he discovered Dostoevsky F.M., and was especially amazed by the works of Chekhov A.P., even began to learn Russian in order to read Anton Pavlovich in the original; the second moment was Maugham’s writing of a collection of stories “Ashenden or British Agent” (original title “Ashenden or British Agent”), dedicated to espionage themes.
During the period between the two world wars, the writer wrote a lot and also traveled often, which gave him the basis for writing new and new works. Now these are not only novels or plays, but also a number of short stories, sketches, and essays have been written.
A special place in the writer’s work is the autobiographical novel “Burden” human passions"(1915). Writers of that time like Thomas Wolfe and Theodore Dreiser recognized the novel as brilliant.
During the same period of time, Maugham gravitated towards a new direction for him - socio-psychological drama. Examples of such works are “The Unknown” (1920), “For Merit” (1932), “Sheppie” (1933).
When did the second one begin? world war Maugham was in France. And it was not by chance that he ended up there, but by order of the Ministry of Information he was supposed to study the mood of the French and visit ships in Toulon. The result of such actions were articles that give the reader complete confidence that France will fight to the end and will survive this confrontation. The same sentiments permeate his book “France at War” (1940). And just three months after the book’s publication, France would surrender, and Maugham would need to urgently leave the country for England, as there were rumors that the Germans had blacklisted his name. From England he travels to the USA, where he arrives until the end of the war.
Returning to France after the war was full of sadness - his house was looted, the country was in complete devastation, but the main positive point was that the hated fascism was not just stopped, but destroyed to the ground and it was possible to live and write further.
And it is no coincidence that in this post-war period Somerset Maugham writes historical novels. In the books “Then and Now” (1946), “Catalina” (1948), the writer talks about power and its influence on people, about rulers and their policies, and pays attention to true patriotism. In these novels we see a new style of writing novels; there is a lot of tragedy in them.
“The Razor's Edge” (1944) is one of the last, if not the last, significant novel of the writer. The novel was definitive in many respects. When Maugham was once asked: “How long did it take him to write this book,” the answer was “All his life.”
In 1947, the writer decides to approve the Somerset Maugham Prize, which should be awarded to the best English writers under the age of 35.
In June 1952, the writer was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters degree at Oxford.
IN recent years The writer is immersed in writing an essay. And the book “Great Writers and Their Novels,” published in 1848. is a clear confirmation of this. In this book the reader meets such characters as Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, Dickens and Emily Bronte, Fielding and Jane Austen, Stendhal and Balzac, Melville and Flaubert. All these great people accompanied Maugham throughout his long life.
Later, in 1952, his collection Changeable Moods was published, consisting of six essays, where we see memories of such novelists as G. James, G. Wells and A. Bennett, with whom Somerset Maugham was personally acquainted.
On December 15, 1965, the writer passed away. This happened in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat (a city in France). The cause of death was pneumonia. The writer does not have a burial place as such; it was decided to scatter his ashes under the wall of the Maugham Library, at the Royal School in Canterbury.
Maugham William Somerset ( Maugham William Somerset (1874–1965), English writer and playwright.
Born January 25, 1874 in Paris. Father - Robert Ormond Maugham, legal consultant at the British Embassy in France; mother: Edith Mary (née Snell). His grandfather is a prominent lawyer and co-founder of the English Law Society, so the boy was destined for a legal career in advance. However, family tradition only his three older brothers followed. One of them, Frederick Herbert even served as Lord Chancellor between 1938–1939. Maugham's mother suffered from tuberculosis and died in 1882. Two years later, his father died of stomach cancer.
The loss of loved ones had a hard impact on the child’s psyche. In 1884, he was taken in by his father's brother Henry MacDonald Maugham, vicar of the cathedral in Whitestable, Kent, England. Primary education received from the King's School, Canterbury. Until the age of ten he spoke only French. Constantly ridiculed for his poor English and short stature. Due to nervous stress, Somerset developed a slight stutter, which became noticeable when excited.
In 1890, Maugham entered the University of Heidelberg in the department of literature and philosophy. Returning to England, Maugham worked in a law office for about a month. At the insistence of his uncle, he continued his education at the Medical College at St. Thomas's Hospital in London. In 1897, Maugham received a medical degree, but did not work in his specialty and devoted himself entirely to literature.
Maugham's first novel, Liza of Lambeth, appeared in 1897. The aspiring author quickly gained fame. The comedy Lady Frederick (1907) was a huge success with the public.
In 1908, four of his plays were performed simultaneously on London stages. Creative heritage Maugham is very extensive: plays (“A Man of Honour”, 1903; “Jack Straw”, 1908; “The Explorer”, 1908; “Landed Gentry”, 1910; “The Land of Promise”, 1913; “The Constant Wife” , 1926, etc.), novels (“The Making of a Saint”, 1898; “ The Hero", 1901; "Mrs Craddock", 1902; "Of Human Bondage", 1902; "The Moon and Sixpence", 1919; "Theater", 1937; “The Razor’s Edge”, 1944, etc.), scripts, stories, travel notes, etc. He received huge fees and during his lifetime became almost a living classic. However, Maugham himself assessed his talent very modestly: “The very first among the second-rate.”
In 1909, Maugham became interested in 21-year-old actress Ethelwynne Sylvia Jones, who played in his play Penelope. Daughter of playwright Henry Arthur Jones; pet nickname Sue. Maugham proposed to her, but received an unexpected refusal. The relationship lasted about eight years, but did not continue. E. Jones became the prototype of Rosie, one of the heroines of the novel “Cakes and Ale: or, the Skeleton in the Cupboard”, 1930.
In 1911, Maugham met Sirie Barnardo (Maud Syrie Barnardo, 1879–1955). Daughter of homeless children's shelter organizer Thomas John Barnardo and his wife Sarah Louise Elmslie. Born July 10, 1879 in Hackney, England. In 1901, in Khartoum, she married the richest pharmaceutical manufacturer, Henry Wellcome (1853–1936). In 1903 she gave birth to a son, Henry Mountney Wellcome. The child suffered from a mental disorder, which greatly clouded their cohabitation and was one of the reasons for the discord. In 1915 in Italy, Sarah Wellcome gave birth to a daughter, Mary Elizabeth (1915–1998), whose father, apparently, was Maugham, whom, after an official divorce, she married on May 26, 1917.
At the outbreak of the First World War, Maugham volunteered with a group of Red Cross ambulance drivers in Flanders. It included 23 other major writers of that time, including Ernest Hemingway, John Dos Passos and others. During his stay at Western Front Maugham was recruited by British military intelligence chief John Wallinger. For several years he worked as a liaison officer for the MI6 intelligence network in Europe; carried out special assignments in Switzerland and Russia.
In 1928, Maugham officially divorced his wife, with whom he almost never lived under the same roof. In the division of property, Siri Maugham received a house on King Road in London, a Rolls Royce car, an annual pension of 2,400 pounds for herself and 600 pounds for her daughter. She subsequently discovered a talent for interior design. Her designs with a predominance of white tones were in high demand among the wealthiest and aristocratic public.
Because of the threat German occupation in 1940 Maugham moved to the United States.
Somerset Maugham died on December 15, 1965 in the town of Saint-Jean Cap Ferrat from pneumonia; his ashes were scattered in the park of the Royal School in Canterbury, where he once studied.
William Somerset Maugham (eng. William Somerset Maugham [ˈsʌməsɪt mɔːm]; January 25, 1874, Paris - December 16, 1965, Nice)- English writer, one of the most successful prose writers of the 1930s, British intelligence agent.
Maugham was born into the family of a diplomat, orphaned at an early age, raised in the family of an uncle-priest and a boarding school for boys, Kings School; studied medicine and received a medical degree. After the success of his first book, Lisa of Lambeth (1897), he decided to leave medicine and become a writer. This period of his life is indirectly reflected in his novels “The Burden of Human Passions” (1915) and “Pies and Beer, or the Skeleton in the Closet” (1930). Several novels written next did not bring money, and Maugham turned to drama. After the resounding success of the comedy Lady Frederick (1907), Maugham became a successful author. From that time on, he often traveled around the world, in particular, carrying out assignments for British intelligence in 1916-1917, and visited Russia, which he described in the collection of stories “Ashenden, or the British Agent” (1928). That same year, he bought a villa on the French Cote d'Azur and lived there permanently, except for the period from October 1940 to mid-1946. The urn with Maugham's ashes, in accordance with his will, was buried near the wall of the King's School library, created with his money and bearing his name.
Playwright and essayist. Maugham owns light comedies of character and situation, evil satires on morals and socio-psychological dramas like “For Merit” (1932) with acute conflict and an accurate depiction of historical time. His plays - about 30 of them were staged in 1903-1933 - are distinguished by dynamic action, careful development of mise-en-scène, and compact, lively dialogue. However, the writer’s main contribution to literature is short stories, novels and essays, including the book “Summing Up” (1938), in which a free essay on literature and art, a careful author’s confession and an aesthetic treatise are fused into a remarkable artistic whole.
Narrator. Exquisite mastery of form - a tightly constructed plot, strict selection of material, capacious detail, dialogue as natural as breathing, masterful mastery of the semantic and sound richness of the native language, relaxed conversational and at the same time restrained, subtly skeptical intonation of the narrative, clear, economical, simple style - makes Maugham a classic of the 20th century short story. The variety of characters, types, situations, conflicts, the combination of pathology and norms, good and evil, scary and funny, everyday life and exoticism transform his short story heritage (prepared by him in 1953 full meeting stories includes 91 works) in a kind of “human tragicomedy”. However, this code is softened by endless tolerance, wise irony and a fundamental reluctance to act as a judge of one’s neighbor. In Maugham, life seems to tell itself, judges itself and makes a moral verdict, while the author is nothing more than an observer and chronicler of what is depicted.
Novelist. The virtues of an objective manner of writing and a brilliant style, to which Somerset Maugham owes in no small degree his love for the masters of French prose, are also inherent in his best novels. In addition to "The Burden", this is a novel about the artist "The Moon and a Penny" (1919) and a novel about the actress "Theater" (1937), which together with the novel about the writer "Pies and Beer" form something like a trilogy about the creators of art, its meaning and attitude To real life, as well as The Patterned Veil (1925), Christmas Vacation (1939) and The Razor's Edge (1944). Behind the relationships between the characters, the clashes of their aspirations, passions and natures, Maugham clearly reveals an artistic and philosophical analysis of some “eternal” themes of world literature: the meaning of life, love, death, the essence of beauty, the purpose of art. Constantly returning to the problem of the comparative value of the moral and the beautiful, which worried him, Maugham in each case, although in different ways, gave preference to the first, as is clear from the logic of the images he created: “... the most beauty lies in a well-lived life. This - the highest work of art" ("Patterned Cover"). The life of Larry Darrell, the main character of Maugham's final novel, The Razor's Edge, is the artistic embodiment of this highest form beauty.
Source encyclopedia of the company "KIRILL and MEFODIUS" and Wikipedia.org
Somerset Maugham was born on January 25, 1874 at the British Embassy in Paris. This birth of a child was planned rather than accidental. Because at that time a law was written in France, the essence of which was that all young men born on French territory had to be drafted into the army upon reaching adulthood.
Naturally, the very thought that their son, with English blood flowing in his veins, could soon join the ranks of the army that would fight against England frightened the parents and required decisive action. There was only one way to avoid this kind of situation - by giving birth to a child on the territory of the English embassy, which, according to existing laws, was equivalent to birth on the territory of England.
William was the fourth child in the family. And from early childhood he was predicted to have a future as a lawyer, since both his father and grandfather were prominent lawyers, two brothers later became lawyers, and the second brother Frederick Herbert, who later became Lord Chancellor and Peer of England, was considered the most successful. But, as time has shown, the plans were not destined to come true.
Being born in Paris could not but affect the child. For example, a boy up to the age of eleven spoke only French. And the reason that prompted the child to start learning English was the sudden death of his mother Edith from consumption when he was eight, and his father died two years later. As a result, the boy finds himself in the care of his uncle Henry Maugham, who lived in the city of Whitstable in England, in the county of Kent. My uncle was a parish priest.
This period of life was not happy for little Maugham. My uncle and his wife were very callous, boring and rather stingy people. The boy also faced an acute problem of communicating with his guardians. Not knowing English, he could not establish relationships with new relatives. And, in the end, the result of such ups and downs in the young man’s life was that he began to stutter and Maugham would have this disease for the rest of his life.
William Maugham was sent to study at the Royal School, which was located in Canterbury, an ancient town located southeast of London. And here little William had more reasons for concern and worry than for happiness. He was constantly teased by his peers for his natural short stature and stuttering. English with a distinctive French accent was also a source of ridicule.
Therefore, moving to Germany in 1890 to study at the University of Heidelberg was an indescribable, indescribable happiness. Here he finally begins to study literature and philosophy, trying with all his might to get rid of his inherent accent. Here he will write his first work - a biography of the composer Meyerbeer. True, this essay will not cause a “storm of applause” from the publisher and Maugham will burn it, but this will be his first conscious attempt at writing.
In 1892, Maugham moved to London and entered medical school. This decision was not caused by a craving or inclination towards medicine, but was made only because a young man from a decent family needed to get some more or less decent profession, and his uncle’s pressure also had an influence in this matter. Subsequently, he would receive a diploma as a physician and surgeon, and even work for some time at St. Thomas's Hospital, which was located in one of the poorest areas of London.
But the most important thing for him during this period was literature. Even then he clearly understands that this is precisely his calling and at night he begins to write his first creations. On weekends, he visits theaters and the Tivoli music hall, where he will watch all the performances that he could watch from the very back seats.
The period of his life associated with his medical career is visible in his novel "Lisa of Lambeth", which was published by Fisher Unwin in 1897. The novel was accepted by both professionals and the general public. The first editions sold out in a matter of weeks, which gave Maugham confidence in the correctness of his choice towards literature rather than medicine.
1898 reveals William Maugham Somerset as a playwright, he writes his first play “Man of Honor”, which will premiere on the stage of a modest theater only five years later. The play did not cause any furor, it was performed only for two evenings, and the reviews from critics were, to put it mildly, terrible. In fairness, it is worth noting that later, a year later, Maugham would remake this play, radically changing the ending. And already in the commercial theater "Avenue Theater" the play will be shown more than twenty times.
Despite his relatively unsuccessful first experience in drama, within ten years William Somerset Maugham would become a widely known and recognized playwright. The comedy Lady Frederick, which was staged in 1908 on the Court Theater stage, enjoyed particular success. A number of plays were also written that raised issues of inequality in society, hypocrisy, and corruption of representatives of different levels of government.
These plays were received by society and critics differently - some sharply criticized them, others praised them for their wit and theatricality. However, despite the mixed reviews, it should be noted that on the eve of the First World War, Maugham Somerset became a recognized playwright, whose works were successfully staged both in England and abroad.
At the beginning of the war, the writer served with the British Red Cross. Subsequently, employees of the well-known British intelligence service MI5 recruit him into their ranks. So the writer becomes an intelligence officer and goes first to Switzerland for a year and then to Russia to carry out a secret mission, the purpose of which was to prevent Russia from leaving the war. He met with such famous political players of the time as A.F. Kerensky, B.V. Savinkov. and others.
Maugham would later write that this idea was doomed to failure and he turned out to be a poor agent. The first positive aspect of this mission was Maugham’s discovery of Russian literature. In particular, he discovered Dostoevsky F.M., and was especially amazed by the works of Chekhov A.P., even began to learn Russian in order to read Anton Pavlovich in the original. The second point was Maugham’s writing of a collection of short stories, “Ashenden or the British Agent,” dedicated to espionage themes.
During the period between the two world wars, the writer wrote a lot and also traveled often, which gave him the basis for writing new and new works. Now these are not only novels or plays, but also a number of short stories, sketches, and essays have been written. A special place in the writer’s work is the autobiographical novel “The Burden of Human Passions.” Writers of the time such as Thomas Wolfe and Theodore Dreiser recognized the novel as a genius. During the same period of time, Maugham gravitated towards a new direction for him - socio-psychological drama. Examples of such works are “The Unknown”, “For Merit”, “Sheppy”.
When World War II began, Maugham was in France. And it was not by chance that he ended up there, but by order of the Ministry of Information he was supposed to study the mood of the French and visit ships in Toulon. The result of such actions were articles that give the reader complete confidence that France will fight to the end and will survive this confrontation. His book “France at War” is permeated with the same sentiments.
And just three months after the book’s publication, France would surrender, and Maugham would need to urgently leave the country for England, as there were rumors that the Germans had blacklisted his name. From England he travels to the USA, where he arrives until the end of the war. Returning to France after the war was full of sadness - his house was looted, the country was in complete devastation, but the main positive point was that the hated fascism was not just stopped, but destroyed to the ground and it was possible to live and write further.
It is no coincidence that during this post-war period Somerset Maugham wrote historical novels. In the books “Then and Now” and “Catalina” the writer talks about power and its influence on people, about rulers and their policies, and pays attention to true patriotism. In these novels it is visible new style writing novels, there is a lot of tragedy in them. “The Razor's Edge” is one of the last, if not the last, significant novel of the writer. The novel was definitive in many respects. When Maugham was once asked: “How long did it take him to write this book,” the answer was “All his life.”
In 1947, the writer decides to approve the Somerset Maugham Prize, which should be awarded to the best English writers under the age of 35. In June 1952, the writer was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters degree at Oxford.
In his last years, he immersed himself in writing essays. And the book “Great Writers and Their Novels,” published in 1848, is a clear confirmation of this. In this book, the reader meets such heroes as Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, Dickens and Emily Bronte, Fielding and Jane Austen, Stendhal and Balzac, Melville and Flaubert. All these great people accompanied Maugham throughout his long life.
Later, in 1952, his collection “Changable Moods” was published, consisting of six essays, where memories of such novelists as G. James, G. Wells and A. Bennett, with whom Somerset Maugham was personally acquainted, are visible.
The writer died on December 15, 1965. It happened in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, France. The cause of death was pneumonia. The writer does not have a burial place as such; it was decided to scatter his ashes under the wall of the Maugham Library, at the Royal School in Canterbury.
Somerset Maugham is a famous English novelist of the 30s, as well as an agent of English intelligence. Born and died in France. He lived a bright life long life and died at 91. Years of life: 1874-1965. Somerset Maugham's father was a lawyer at the British Embassy of France, thanks to which the writer automatically received French citizenship at birth in Paris.
At the age of 8, Somerset lost his mother, and at 10 he lost his father, after which he was sent to be raised by relatives in the city of Whitstable. Since Somerset Maugham’s grandfather, like his father, was involved in law and was the most famous lawyer at that time, the parents predicted a career for the writer in the same field. But their expectations were not met.
Somerset, after graduating from school in Canterbury, entered the University of Heidelberg, where he studied such sciences as philosophy and literature. Afterwards the writer studied at medical school at St. Thomas's Hospital in London. Somerset wrote his first manuscript while still studying at the University of Heidelberg. It was a biography of the composer Meyerbeer, but since it was not published, it was burned by the author.
Although gay, Maugham married decorator Siri Wellcome in May 1917, with whom they had a daughter, Mary Elizabeth Maugham. The marriage was not successful, and the couple divorced in 1929. In his old age, Somerset admitted: “My most big mistake was that I imagined myself to be three-quarters normal and only one-quarter homosexual, when in reality it was the other way around.”
In 1987, Somerset Maugham wrote his first novel, Lisa of Lambeth. but success came to him only in 1907 after the publication of the play “Lady Frederick”. As an intelligence officer, Somerset Maugham was an agent of British intelligence and conducted espionage in Russia. But he did not complete his mission. About this life experience the writer narrates in his work "Ashenden" ("British Agent", written in 1928. Somerset Maugham visited Malaysia, China, the USA. New countries inspired him to create different creative works. As a playwright, Somerset Maugham wrote many plays.
Some of his best works are the play "The Circle", written in 1921; "Shepi" - 1933; novel "Pies and Beer" - 1930; "Theater" - 1937 and many other works. This text outlined Somerset Maugham biography. Of course, not everyone was fully covered. life situations this brightest figure, but the main stages are reflected, which makes it possible to compose a certain picture about this person.
In 1947, the writer approved the Somerset Maugham Prize, which was awarded to the best English writers under the age of thirty-five.
Maugham gave up traveling when he felt that it had nothing more to offer him. “I had nowhere to change further. The arrogance of culture left me. I accepted the world as it is. I have learned tolerance. I wanted freedom for myself and was willing to give it to others.” After 1948, Maugham left drama and fiction, writing essays mainly on literary topics.
The last lifetime publication of Maugham's work, autobiographical notes“A Look into the Past” was published in the fall of 1962 on the pages of the London Sunday Express.
Somerset Maugham died on December 15, 1965 at the age of 92 in the French town of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, near Nice, from pneumonia. According to French law, patients who died in the hospital were supposed to undergo an autopsy, but the writer was taken home, and on December 16 it was officially announced that he had died at home, in his villa, which became his final refuge. The writer does not have a grave as such, since his ashes were scattered under the wall of the Maugham Library, at the Royal School in Canterbury.
Interesting facts:
- Maugham always placed his desk opposite a blank wall so that nothing would distract him from his work. He worked for three to four hours in the morning, fulfilling his self-imposed quota of 1000-1500 words.
- Dying, he said: “Dying is a boring and joyless thing. My advice to you is never do this.”
- “Before you write new novel“I always re-read Candide so that later I can unconsciously equal this standard of clarity, grace and wit.”
- Maugham about the book “The Burden of Human Passions”: “My book is not an autobiography, but an autobiographical novel, where facts are strongly mixed with fiction; I experienced the feelings described in it myself, but not all the episodes happened as described, and they were taken partly not from my life, but from the lives of people who were well known to me.”
“I wouldn’t go to see my plays at all, neither on the opening night, nor on any other evening, if I didn’t consider it necessary to test their effect on the public in order to learn from this how to write them.”
