W. Somerset Maugham

W. Somerset Maugham was a highly successful author, whose career spanned from 1914 to 1939. He wrote many publicly well-received novels and plays, including his best known work Of Human Bondage. He never quite received the respect he would have liked from his peers and critics, which believed to be the result of a lack of vocabulary skill and the inability to excite with through imagery in his writing.

Medical School

Maugham's parents both died when he was very young. This left him in the care of guardians that were indifferent to him, thus leaving emotional scars that remained his entire life. His father, grandfather and brother were all successful lawyers, and it was expected that he would follow in the family footsteps. By the time he reached college age, however, he had been writing for quite some time, and longed to become an author. He was too young to decide his own fate, and was forced to follow his guardian's wishes that he attend medical school.

Experiences serve Maugham

His medical training, and service for the British Red Cross during World War l, all served the author well, supplying subject matter from which to draw in his writings. During this time of service, he was also able to observe his fellow man and to see first hand how pain and suffering can ravage the human spirit. The effect these experiences had on him is seen in many of his works. He died at the age of 91.

Quotations

Do you know that conversation is one of the greatest pleasures in life? But it wants leisure
You can do anything in this world if you are prepared to take the consequences
It was such a lovely day I thought it was a pity to get up
Marriage is a very good thing, but I think it's a mistake to make a habit out of it
If a nation values anything more than freedom, it will lose its freedom, and the irony of it is that if it is comfort or money that it values more, it will lose that too

W. Somerset Maugham was a highly successful author, whose career spanned from 1914 to 1939. He wrote many publicly well-received novels and plays, including his best known work Of Human Bondage. He never quite received the respect he would have liked from his peers and critics, which believed to be the result of a lack of vocabulary skill and the inability to excite with through imagery in his writing.

Medical School

</small> Maugham's parents both died when he was very young. This left him in the care of guardians that were indifferent to him, thus leaving emotional scars that remained his entire life. His father, grandfather and brother were all successful lawyers, and it was expected that he would follow in the family footsteps. By the time he reached college age, however, he had been writing for quite some time, and longed to become an author. He was too young to decide his own fate, and was forced to follow his guardian's wishes that he attend medical school.

Experiences serve Maugham

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His medical training, and service for the British Red Cross during World War l, all served the author well, supplying subject matter from which to draw in his writings. During this time of service, he was also able to observe his fellow man and to see first hand how pain and suffering can ravage the human spirit. The effect these experiences had on him is seen in many of his works. He died at the age of 91.

Fast Facts

Birth Name: William Somerset Maugham
Born: January 25, 1874
Birthplace: British Embassy, Paris, France
Parents died when very young
Was a stutterer
Once had four of his plays run simultaneously in London
Attended medical school for five years
Of Human Bondage semi-autobiographical
Served in WW1 as an ambulance driver
Gathered and passed on Intelligence during the war
Died: December 16, 1965, Nice, France
His ashes were scattered near Maugham library, Canterbury, England

Quotations

Do you know that conversation is one of the greatest pleasures in life? But it wants leisure
You can do anything in this world if you are prepared to take the consequences
It was such a lovely day I thought it was a pity to get up
Marriage is a very good thing, but I think it's a mistake to make a habit out of it
If a nation values anything more than freedom, it will lose its freedom, and the irony of it is that if it is comfort or money that it values more, it will lose that too
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