"interested in Gauguin (Maugham traveled to Tahiti and based his novel ""The Moon and Sixpence"" on the life of Gaugin). Roderic O'Conor Roderic O'Conor (17 October 1860 – 18 March 1940) was an Irish painter who spent much of his later career in Paris and as part of the Pont-Aven movement. O'Conor's work demonstrates Impressionist and Post-Impressionist influence. Born in Milltown, Castleplunket, County Roscommon, Ireland, O'Conor attended the Metropolitan School and Royal Hibernian Academy early in his career. His father, Roderic Joseph O'Conor, acted as a justice of the peace and was appointed high sheriff of the county in 1863."
"The Moon and Sixpence (film) The Moon and Sixpence is a 1942 film adaptation of W. Somerset Maugham's novel of the same name. Dimitri Tiomkin was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture. Geoffrey Wolfe (Herbert Marshall), a writer similar to Maugham, tells the story of Charles Strickland (George Sanders). A mediocre, seemingly unassuming London stockbroker, Strickland suddenly gives up his career, wife of 17 years (an uncredited Molly Lamont), and children and moves to Paris. Mrs. Strickland asks Wolfe to bring him back. To Wolfe's surprise, Strickland has not run away"
"release and 1948 re-release. On December 14, 2011, Turner Classic Movies aired a restored print from George Eastman House which includes the tinted scenes in Tahiti and the final reel in Technicolor (the scenes in London and Paris are in black and white). The Moon and Sixpence (film) The Moon and Sixpence is a 1942 film adaptation of W. Somerset Maugham's novel of the same name. Dimitri Tiomkin was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture. Geoffrey Wolfe (Herbert Marshall), a writer similar to Maugham, tells the story of Charles Strickland (George"
"research. Biographical fiction has its roots in late 19th and early 20th-century novels based loosely on the lives of famous people, but without direct reference to them, such as George Meredith's ""Diana of the Crossways"" (1885) and Somerset Maugham's ""The Moon and Sixpence"" (1919). During the early part of the 20th century this became a distinct genre, with novels that were explicitly about individuals' lives. Autobiographical fiction, or autofiction, is fiction that incorporates the author's own experience into the narrative. It allows authors to both rely and reflect on their own experience. However, the reading of the autobiographical fiction need"
"W. Somerset Maugham William Somerset Maugham, CH ( ; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965), better known as W. Somerset Maugham, was a British 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. After both his parents died before he was 10, Maugham was raised by a paternal uncle who was emotionally cold. Not wanting to become a lawyer like other men in his family, Maugham eventually trained and qualified as a physician. The initial run of his first novel, ""Liza of Lambeth"" (1897),"
"one, Whistler, is American. Eleven were alive at the time in which the plot of the novel is unfolding and five – Carolus-Duran, Degas, Monet, Rafelli, and Renoir – were alive when ""Of Human Bondage"" was published in 1915. Of Human Bondage Of Human Bondage is a 1915 novel by W. Somerset Maugham. It is generally agreed to be his masterpiece and to be strongly autobiographical in nature, although Maugham stated, ""This is a novel, not an autobiography, though much in it is autobiographical, more is pure invention."" Maugham, who had originally planned to call his novel ""Beauty from Ashes"","
"Copperfield"", Charles Dickens describes how its protagonist dealt with a street carman about taking his travel box to a coach office in London: ""I told him mine, which was down that street there, and which I wanted him to take to the Dover coach office for sixpence"", then he replying: ""Done with you for a tanner!"" The sixpence also features in other works of popular culture and literature. It appears in the title of the British writer Somerset Maughan's 1919 novel, ""The Moon and Sixpence,"" and appears in both the title and as a plot device in Michael Paraskos's novel"
"close relationship with the young Somerset Maugham. His relationship with Maugham was significant both as Maugham's first sexual experience and for forming his literary tastes: The character Greene in Maugham's ""Of Human Bondage"", an ""esthete who is just back from Germany and admires Pater"" and influences Stephen, the young protagonist, is ""obviously based on Ellingham Brooks"". Five years later, Maugham and Brooks would cross paths again in Capri: Maugham disapproved of Brooks' indolent life in Capri, and based the protagonist of an unflattering short story, The Lotus-Eater, on him. In ""The Summing Up"", Maugham called Brooks ""Brown"" and wrote, ""For"
"– closes with a return to this ""future"" setting. A character named ""William Ashenden"" is the narrator of Maugham's novels ""Cakes and Ale,"" ""The Moon and Sixpence"" and ""The Razor's Edge"". Ashenden is also the name of a character who appears in several of Maugham's short stories. The character appears briefly in the book ""The Bloody Red Baron"" by Kim Newman Ashenden: Or the British Agent Ashenden: Or the British Agent is a 1928 collection of loosely linked stories by W. Somerset Maugham. It is partly based on the author's experience as a member of British Intelligence in Europe during"
"for his power of telling a story straightforwardly and without frills."". In his novel ""Misery"", Stephen King places a rich collection of Maugham's books in the house where most of the plot is set, and incidentally praises Maugham's mastery of storytelling. Many portraits were painted of Somerset Maugham, including that by Graham Sutherland in the Tate Gallery, and several by Sir Gerald Kelly. Sutherland's portrait was included in the exhibit """" at the National Portrait Gallery. W. Somerset Maugham William Somerset Maugham, CH ( ; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965), better known as W. Somerset Maugham, was a"
"in leading men"" and noted that the top actresses often asked for him to appear with them. Besides his early romantic roles, Marshall was especially associated with the onscreen works of British author W. Somerset Maugham. In addition to performances in both filmed versions of Maugham's ""The Letter"", Marshall also starred in adaptions of ""The Painted Veil"" (1934), ""The Moon and Sixpence"" (1942) and ""The Razor's Edge"" (1946). In the latter two, he portrayed the author himself, first as Maugham stand-in Geoffrey Wolfe and later as Maugham (formally), serving as both a narrator and a character within the film. In"
"an introduction by her long-time friend and fellow writer Marie Belloc Lowndes. It is likely that this work, which can be seen as partially autobiographical, was written at an earlier time but suppressed for personal reasons. It deals with the experiences of a young writer and reflects her own, as does her previous novel ""A Beginner"". The manuscript is in her own handwriting, which is unusual, because some previous work had been dictated to an assistant. Her final years were spent at Headington Hill, near Oxford where she died on the 5 June 1920, aged 79. Somerset Maugham, in his"
"York in August 1944, Channon wrote ″I saw much of Somerset Maugham, who never before was a friend. He has put me into a book, 'the Razor's Edge' and when I dined with him, I asked him why he had done it, and he explained, with some embarrassment, that he had split me into three characters, and then written a book about all three. So I am Elliott Templeton, Larry, himself the hero of the book, and another: however I am flattered, and the book is a masterpiece...″ The Razor's Edge The Razor's Edge is a novel by W. Somerset"
"The Razor's Edge The Razor's Edge is a novel by W. Somerset Maugham. The book was first published in 1944. It tells the story of Larry Darrell, an American pilot traumatized by his experiences in World War I, who sets off in search of some transcendent meaning in his life. The story begins through the eyes of Larry's friends and acquaintances as they witness his personality change after the War. His rejection of conventional life and search for meaningful experience allows him to thrive while the more materialistic characters suffer reversals of fortune. The book was twice adapted into film,"
"a best-selling author with his novels translated into many languages. He wrote over thirty books including novels, travel books, plays, and biographical works such as ""Somerset and all the Maughams"" (Heinemann 1966). Described as ""defiantly homosexual"", but, in fact, bisexual, Maugham never married, and the viscountcy became extinct upon his death. He died from a pulmonary embolism, compounded by long-standing diabetes mellitus, although an official cause of death was difficult to obtain as his body was apparently lost for forty-eight hours after his death. He had three sisters: Kate, Honor, and novelist Diana Marr-Johnson (1908–2007). He is buried in Hartfield,"
"A novel based on her life by Elaine Todd Koren was published in 2001, entitled ""Suzanne: of Love and Art"". An earlier novel by Sarah Baylis, entitled ""Utrillo's Mother"", was published first in England and later in the United States. Timberlake Wertenbaker's play, ""The Line"" (2009), traces the relationship between Valadon and Degas. Valadon was the basis for the character Suzanne Rouvier in the novel ""The Razor's Edge"" by W. Somerset Maugham. Both an asteroid (6937 Valadon) and a crater on Venus are named in her honor. The small square at the base of the Montmartre funicular in Paris is"
"The Lotus Eater ""The Lotus Eater"" is a short story written by W. Somerset Maugham in 1935 and loosely based on the life story of John Ellingham Brooks. It was included in the 1940 collection of Maugham stories ""The Mixture as Before"". The story begins in 1913 with the narrator's visit to a friend on the island of Capri in Italy. The friend introduces the narrator to Thomas Wilson, who had come to the island for a holiday sixteen years earlier. A year after that holiday, Wilson had given up his job in London as a bank manager to live"
"Cakes and Ale Cakes and Ale, or, The Skeleton in the Cupboard (1930) is a novel by the British author W. Somerset Maugham. Maugham exposes the misguided social snobbery levelled at the character Rosie Driffield, whose frankness, honesty, and sexual freedom make her a target of conservative propriety. Her character is treated favourably by the book's narrator, Ashenden, who understands that she was a muse to the many artists who surrounded her, and who himself enjoyed her sexual favours. Maugham drew his title from the remark of Sir Toby Belch to Malvolio in William Shakespeare's ""Twelfth Night"": """"Dost thou think,"
"Of Human Bondage Of Human Bondage is a 1915 novel by W. Somerset Maugham. It is generally agreed to be his masterpiece and to be strongly autobiographical in nature, although Maugham stated, ""This is a novel, not an autobiography, though much in it is autobiographical, more is pure invention."" Maugham, who had originally planned to call his novel ""Beauty from Ashes"", finally settled on a title taken from a section of Spinoza's ""Ethics"". The Modern Library ranked ""Of Human Bondage"" No. 66 on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century. The book begins with the"
"The Painted Veil (2006 film) The Painted Veil is a 2006 American drama film directed by John Curran. The screenplay by Ron Nyswaner is based on the 1925 novel of the same title by W. Somerset Maugham. Edward Norton, Naomi Watts, Toby Jones, Anthony Wong Chau Sang and Liev Schreiber appear in the leading roles. This is the third film adaptation of the Maugham book, following a 1934 film starring Greta Garbo and Herbert Marshall and a 1957 version called ""The Seventh Sin"" with Bill Travers and Eleanor Parker. On a brief trip back to London, earnest, bookish bacteriologist Walter"
"one of the wealthiest and most famous writers in the English-speaking world. Maugham's short fable ""An Appointment in Samarra"" (1933) is based on an ancient Babylonian myth: Death is both the narrator and a central character. The American writer John O'Hara credited Maugham's tale as the inspiration for the title of his novel ""Appointment in Samarra"". Maugham, by then in his sixties, spent most of the Second World War in the United States, first in Los Angeles (he worked on many scripts, and was one of the first authors to make significant money from film adaptations) and later in the"
"Maxwell Gray Mary Gleed Tuttiett (11 December 1846 – 21 September 1923), better known by the pen name Maxwell Gray, was an English novelist and poet best known for her 1886 novel ""The Silence of Dean Maitland"". Tuttiett was born and brought up in Newport, Isle of Wight, the daughter of the surgeon Frank Bampfylde Tuttiett and his wife Elizabeth née Gleed. Largely self-educated, in early adulthood she visited London, various other parts of England, and Yverdon-les-Bains in Switzerland; but for the majority of her working life as a writer suffered constant debilitating illness from asthma and rheumatism —reports described"
"is absent from the tale; it is instead the merchant who has the nighttime appointment with Death in Samarra after being startled to see Death that morning in the Baghdad market. Sheppey (play) Sheppey (1933) was William Somerset Maugham's last play, written at the age of 59 and after he had reached distinction as a novelist and playwright. Maugham dedicated the book to Sir John Gielgud. It is the story about the change of fortune of hairdresser Joseph Miller who was born on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent and nicknamed ""Sheppey"". The play is set in the 1930s. Sheppey, a"
"a reasonably successful barrister, is appointed Chief Justice of a minor British colony in the Caribbean (the Bahamas) and she persuades him to allow her to accompany him there, where she intends to dedicate her life to him and to ensuring that her child is brought up avoiding the mistakes she had made. The novel has been adapted for the screen three times: The Painted Veil (novel) The Painted Veil is a 1925 novel by British author W. Somerset Maugham. The title is taken from Percy Bysshe Shelley's sonnet, which begins ""Lift not the painted veil which those who live"
"his throat, and was committed to the private asylum of Esprit Blanche at Passy, in Paris, where he died 6 July 1893. Guy De Maupassant penned his own epitaph: ""I have coveted everything and taken pleasure in nothing."" He is buried in Section 26 of the Montparnasse Cemetery, Paris. Maupassant is considered a father of the modern short story. He delighted in clever plotting, and served as a model for Somerset Maugham and O. Henry in this respect. One of his famous short stories, ""The Necklace"", was imitated with a twist by both Maugham (""Mr Know-All"", ""A String of Beads"")"
"his reputation as a writer. In 1974, the BBC released a three episode mini-series ""Cakes and Ale"", starring Michael Hordern and Judy Cornwell. It was rebroadcast on Masterpiece Theatre in the US. Cakes and Ale Cakes and Ale, or, The Skeleton in the Cupboard (1930) is a novel by the British author W. Somerset Maugham. Maugham exposes the misguided social snobbery levelled at the character Rosie Driffield, whose frankness, honesty, and sexual freedom make her a target of conservative propriety. Her character is treated favourably by the book's narrator, Ashenden, who understands that she was a muse to the many"
"a charitable organisation based in the county. Somerset has traditions of art, music and literature. Wordsworth and Coleridge wrote while staying in Coleridge Cottage, Nether Stowey. The writer Evelyn Waugh spent his last years in the village of Combe Florey. The novelist John Cowper Powys (1872–1963) lived in the Somerset village of Montacute from 1885 until 1894 and his novels ""Wood and Stone"" (1915) and ""A Glastonbury Romance"" (1932) are set in Somerset. Traditional folk music, both song and dance, was important in the agricultural communities. Somerset songs were collected by Cecil Sharp and incorporated into works such as Holst's"
"Sheppey (play) Sheppey (1933) was William Somerset Maugham's last play, written at the age of 59 and after he had reached distinction as a novelist and playwright. Maugham dedicated the book to Sir John Gielgud. It is the story about the change of fortune of hairdresser Joseph Miller who was born on the Isle of Sheppey, Kent and nicknamed ""Sheppey"". The play is set in the 1930s. Sheppey, a hard worker at the same establishment for 15 years, wins a subsidiary prize in the Irish Lottery of £8,500 but does not take to his win with the same style that"
"Irons as Michael. Theatre (novel) Theatre is a novel by the British writer W. Somerset Maugham, first published in 1937 by William Heinemann (UK) and Doubleday Doran (US). The novel describes a successful actress and her husband, a theatre manager; her life and career is disturbed by an stormy affair with a young accountant. In the preface to a collected edition, Maugham writes that during the thirty years between the productions of his first play and his last play, he knew ""a great number of distinguished actresses. Julia Lambert, the heroine of ""Theatre"", is a portrait of none of them."
"word. His preface to the book directly credits John O'Hara and Somerset Maugham as the source for this version, although he is aware that the story is much older, deriving from ancient Middle Eastern sources. At one point in Peter Bogdanovich's 1968 film ""Targets"", Boris Karloff's character recites Maugham's version of the story almost word for word (describing Death in the third person, but including the same details of the servant's flight). A modified version of the story is told in ""The Six Thatchers"" (2017), the first episode of the fourth series of the British television programme ""Sherlock"". The servant"
"The Painted Veil (novel) The Painted Veil is a 1925 novel by British author W. Somerset Maugham. The title is taken from Percy Bysshe Shelley's sonnet, which begins ""Lift not the painted veil which those who live / Call Life"". The novel was first published in serialised form in five issues of ""Cosmopolitan"" (November 1924 – March 1925). Beginning in May 1925, it was serialised in the United Kingdom in eight parts in ""Nash's Magazine"". The biographer Richard Cordell notes that the book was influenced by Maugham's study of science and his work as a houseman at St Thomas' Hospital."
"final years, Maugham made an unsuccessful attempt to disinherit his daughter and to adopt Searle as his son. Following Maugham's death, Searle went into retirement in Monte Carlo. He was interviewed by the scholar Robert Calder when he was writing his biography of Maugham. He died in 1985. Alan Searle Alan Searle (1905-1985) became the private secretary and companion of W. Somerset Maugham following the death of Gerald Haxton in 1944. He took up residence at Maugham's villa in the Riviera and remained with him until his death in 1965. Maugham first met Searle in 1928, when Searle was ""a"
"The Narrow Corner The Narrow Corner is a novel by the British writer W. Somerset Maugham, first published by William Heinemann in 1932. A quote from ""Meditations"", iii 10, by Marcus Aurelius, introduces the work: ""Short therefore, is man's life, and narrow is the corner of the earth wherein he dwells."" In the story, set ""a good many years ago"" in what is now Indonesia, a young Australian, cruising the islands after his involvement in a murder in Sydney, has a passionate affair on an island which causes a further tragedy. In the preface to a collected edition, Maugham writes"