W. Somerset Maugham

William Somerset Maugham CH ( 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English playwright, novelist, and short story writer. He was among the most popular writers of his era and reputedly the highest-paid author during the 1930s.

Both Maugham's parents died before he was 10, and the orphaned boy was raised by a paternal uncle who was emotionally cold. He did not want to become a lawyer like other men in his family, so he trained and qualified as a physician. His first novel Liza of Lambeth (1897) sold out so rapidly that Maugham gave up medicine to write full-time.

During the First World War, he served with the Red Cross and in the ambulance corps before being recruited in 1916 into the British Secret Intelligence Service. He worked for the service in Switzerland and Russia before the October Revolution of 1917 in the Russian Empire. During and after the war, he travelled in India, Southeast Asia and the Pacific. He drew from those experiences in his later short stories and novels.

All W. SOMERSET MAUGHAM Quotes about “Books”
“To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all the miseries of life.”

“The only important thing in a book is the meaning that it has for you.”

“An author spends months writing a book, and maybe puts his heart's blood into it, and then it lies about unread till the reader has nothing else in the world to do.”

“When I read a book I seem to read it with my eyes only, but now and then I come across a passage, perhaps only a phrase, which has a meaning for me, and it becomes part of me.”

“I would sooner read a timetable or a catalog than nothing at all.”

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Of Human Bondage (Deluxe) #42

This and other World’s Classics Deluxe Edition are frequently included among the great literature of the 20th century, including the Modern Library 100 Best Novels, The Observer′s, BBC’s and The Telegraph’s "100 Greatest Novels of All Time", and The Guardian′s "1000 novels everyone must read". iBoo Press House uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work. We preserve the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. All Deluxe Edition titles are unabridged (100% Original content), designed with a nice Digital Cloth™ Blue Cover underneath the dusk jacket, quality paper and a large font that’s easy to read.

$39.95 $34.95

Of Human Bondage (Paperback)

This book and other World’s Classics Deluxe Edition are frequently included among the great literature of the 20th century, including the Modern Library 100 Best Novels, The Observer′s, BBC’s and The Telegraph’s "100 Greatest Novels of All Time", and The Guardian′s "1000 novels everyone must read". iBoo Press House uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work. We preserve the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. All titles are unabridged (100% Original content), designed with a nice cover, quality paper and a large font that’s easy to read.

$30.95 $25.95

The Moon and Sixpence (Paperback)

The Moon and Sixpence is a 1919 short novel by William Som- erset Maugham based on the life of the painter Paul Gauguin. The story is told in episodic form by the rst-person narrator as a series of glimpses into the mind and soul of the central charac- ter, Charles Strickland, a middle aged English stock broker who abandons his wife and children abruptly to pursue his desire to become an artist.

$17.99