The Complete Short Stories of W. Somerset Maugham (Vol. III)
August 11, 2006 – 3:58 pmThe Complete Short Stories of W. Somerset Maugham (Vol. III)
Maugham was a witty fellow. This collection of short stories features the British agent Ashenden - who it is said inspired Ian Fleming’s Bond, particularly with regards to Bond’s interactions with M.
In any case, they revolve around the First World War - and are loosely based on the author’s experience of being an agent for the Intelligence Dept. during this time. As he puts it - ” The work of an agent in the Intelligence Department is on the whole monotonous. A lot of it is uncommonly useless. The material it offers for stories is scrappy and pointless, the author has himself to make it coherent, dramatic and probable’
Apparently some of his stories were juicier and closer to the truth but were axed by Winston Churchill because they violated the Official Secrets Act..
Very readable, witty, highly recommended.
Another work - Ashenden: Or the British Agent which Somerset Maugham published in 1928 and is a complete collection of all the Ashenden short stories.
***
William Somerset Maugham was born in Paris in 1874, his father the solicitor at the British Consulate. He studied literature and philosophy at Heidelberg University, and then medicine at St. Thomas’ in London. It was during this time as a medical student he built on his experiences and published Liza of Lambeth in 1897.
After the 1930s Maugham’s reputation abroad was greater than in England.
6 Responses to “The Complete Short Stories of W. Somerset Maugham (Vol. III)”
My mum was a great Maugham fan, especially his short stories.
By Leighton Cooke on Aug 12, 2006
Ah, nice profile. I loved reading WSM’s short stories in me younger days.
Will you be doing a profile of that other great gay English short storyist?
By Sid A on Aug 16, 2006
Hi Sid! well technically Maugham was bisexual ( pedantic yes..i know)
Saki is already profiled here { sorry you have to scroll down a bit!) - I was going to say - i’ve been reading some more Maugham short story collections - Creatures of Circumstance - and in their ‘grittiness’ have something Saki-esque about them. But Saki was a fantastically funny in sucha cutting way. I also have a whole blog titled Saki and Satire - on Blogger, so I got fed up and stuck to my glorious Wordpress - but i do cross-post there occasionally..
thanks for the comment Leighton - it seems that people used to read W.S.M more in ye ‘olde’ days - and I’d love to hear from anyone else who’s into Saki. I just adore Clovis and his conversational abilities..
By sonia on Aug 16, 2006
I haven’t read Maugham’s short stories but I do own his “A Writer’s Notebook”. It’s really good with his thoughts since his young age all the way to his old age. Some of his observations are very funny. I recommend everyone to read it.
By SUNNY on Oct 6, 2006
I just finished a second collection of WSM’s stories. Very enjoyable, particularly The Vessel of Wrath and The Round Dozen. I love the juxtaposition of the mystery and romance offered by the Sailing Directions which opens the former story with the “romance” at the center of the story. And the title reference is very funny.
By AJ on Oct 13, 2006