W. Somerset Maugham’s Followers (5,413)

W. Somerset Maugham

Born

in Paris, France

January 25, 1874

Died

December 16, 1965

Genre

Fiction,Short Stories

Influences

Guy de Maupassant,Honoré de Balzac,Anton Chekhov,Ramana Maharshi ...more

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William Somerset Maugham was born in Paris in 1874. He spoke French even before he spoke a word of English, a fact to which some critics attribute the purity of his style.

His parents died early and, after an unhappy boyhood, which he recorded poignantly inOf Human Bondage,Maugham became a qualified physician. But writing was his true vocation. For ten years before his first success, he almost literally starved while pouring out novels and plays.

Maugham wrote at a time when experimental modernist literature such as that of William Faulkner, Thomas Mann, James Joyce and Virginia Woolf was gaining increasing popularity and winning critical acclaim. In this context, his plain prose style was criticized as 'such a tissue of clichés' that one ...more

Combine Editions
W. Somerset Maugham’s books

Average rating: 4.06 · 268,427 ratings · 23,172 reviews ·1,401 distinct works •Similar authors

	Of Human Bondage 4.14 avg rating — 57,684 ratings — published 1915 — 966 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Razor’s Edge 4.19 avg rating — 49,147 ratings — published 1944 — 403 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Painted Veil 3.97 avg rating — 46,810 ratings — published 1925 — 154 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Moon and Sixpence 4.13 avg rating — 24,612 ratings — published 1919 — 1556 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Theatre 4.17 avg rating — 8,625 ratings — published 1937 — 144 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Cakes and Ale 3.78 avg rating — 7,363 ratings — published 1930 — 269 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Up at the Villa 3.74 avg rating — 7,094 ratings — published 1941 — 112 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Magician by W. Somerset Maugham, Robert Calder(Introduction) 3.58 avg rating — 4,867 ratings — published 1908 — 1249 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Ashenden 3.87 avg rating — 3,526 ratings — published 1927 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Christmas Holiday 3.73 avg rating — 2,680 ratings — published 1939 — 111 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by W. Somerset Maugham…

Series by W. Somerset Maugham

Collected Short Stories of W. Somerset Maugham (4 books)
by

W. Somerset Maugham

4.34 avg rating — 4,908 ratings

Need another excuse to treat yourself to a new book this week? We've got you covered with the buzziest new releases of the day, according to early...

Polls

March 2015 New School Classic Poll

Which book should we choose for our March 2015 New School group read?

1925,Mrs. DallowaybyVirginia Woolf,194 pages

11 votes, 23.4%

1957,The LeopardbyGiuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa,320 pages

7 votes, 14.9%

1959,Flowers for AlgernonbyDaniel Keyes,311 pages

4 votes, 8.5%

1934,Murder on the Orient ExpressbyAgatha Christie,322 pages

4 votes, 8.5%

1914,Of Human BondagebyW. Somerset Maugham,684 pages

4 votes, 8.5%

1938,The Long ValleybyJohn Steinbeck,142 pages

3 votes, 6.4%

1959,A Separate PeacebyJohn Knowles,204 pages

3 votes, 6.4%

1944,Brideshead RevisitedbyEvelyn Waugh,351 pages

2 votes, 4.3%

1957,On the RoadbyJack Kerouac,304 pages

2 votes, 4.3%

1996,Angela's AshesbyFrank McCourt,432 pages

2 votes, 4.3%

1921,The Black MothbyGeorgette Heyer,274 pages

2 votes, 4.3%

1981,Loitering With IntentbyMuriel Spark,217 pages

1 vote, 2.1%

1958,NightbyElie Wiesel,115 pages

1 vote, 2.1%

1920,The Age of InnocencebyEdith Wharton,305 pages

1 vote, 2.1%

1902,The Four FeathersbyA.E.W. Mason,284 pages

0 votes, 0.0%

1905,The House of MirthbyEdith Wharton,351 pages

0 votes, 0.0%

47 total votes

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