Who was William Somerset Maugham?
Novelist, Playwright, and Short-Story Writer.
Date and Place of Birth:
25th January 1874, Paris, France. Christened
William Somerset Maugham.
Family Background:
Of Irish origin. The sixth and youngest son to
the Solicitor at the British Embassy.
Education:
King’s School, Canterbury. Heidelberg, Germany
where he read philosophy and literature. St. Thomas’ Medical School,
London.
Chronology/Biography
of William Somerset-Maugham:
1882: Death of his
beloved mother of Tuberculosis.
1886: Orphaned at
the age of 12. Went to live with his aunt and uncle in Whitstable
Kent.This sudden change brought a stammer which was to cause him
much grief at school.
1891: Spent nine
months in Heidelberg attending lectures.
1897: Qualified
as a Doctor. Worked in a medical practice in the London slums which
gave him material for "Liza of Lambeth" which was graphic
in its detail. He never practiced medicine after that and relied
on his income of £150 left to him by his father. He traveled
to Seville for nine months and wrote a travel book.
1903: "A Man
of Honour" was performed by the Stage Society in London.
1907: His fortunes
turned upwards when his play "Lady Frederick" became a
huge success at the Royal Court Theatre despite it being a last
minute inclusion in their programme.
1908: Although his
initial attempts to get his plays published failed he had four works
running simultaneously on the London stage by 1908.
1911: Began writing
"Of Human Bondage".
1914: During the
first year of the First world War he served with a Red Cross unit
in Northern France. He then became an agent in Military Intelligence
and moved to Geneva.
1915: Publication
of his autobiographical novel "Of Human Bondage". He traveled
to the USA and Tahiti in the company of his boyfriend Gerald Haxton
but married Syrie Wellcome on his return.
1917: By now he
had moved on to Petrograd (St. Petersburg) in Russia attempting
to stop the outbreak of the Russian Revolution.
1919: Publication
of "The Moon and Sixpence" based on his earlier visits
to Tahiti and the Far East.
1927: After his
divorce he settled in the south of France at the Villa Mauresque
on Cap Ferrat, near Nice. He filled the house with antiques and
it became a centre for visiting by the great and the good.
1928: "Ashenden"
is based on his experiences in Russia.
1930: Wrote what
is considered his masterpiece "Cakes and Ale".
1939: He became
a British Agent again during the Second World War.
1940: He fled to
the United States where he stayed until 1946 where he was much taken
with mysticism.
1944: Death of Gerald
Haxton.
1946: Returned to
the Villa Mauresque in France where he lived with Alan Searle.
1950: Film version
of "Encore" produced with an introduction by the author
himself. He had by now become one of the best read and loved writers
but did not receive great critical acclaim as he was accused of
being predictable and shallow in his work.
1954: Made a Companion
of Honour.
1962: His book "Looking
Back" contained an attack on his ex-wife, now deceased, which
lost him a lot of friends.
Written Works:
- 1897:
"Liza of Lambeth."
- 1907:"Lady
Frederick."
- 1915: “Of Human
Bondage.”
- 1919: "The
Moon and Sixpence", "Caesar's Wife", "Home
and Beauty".
- 1921: "The
Trembling of a Leaf".
- 1925: "The
Painted Veil"
- 1926: “The Constant
Wife.”
- 1927: “The Letter.”
- 1928: “The Sacred
Flame.”
- 1930:
“Cakes and Ale. “The Breadwinner.”
- 1938: “The Summing
Up.”
- 1944: “The Razor's
Edge.”
Marriage:
1915 to Syrie Wellcome (divorced 1927).
Places of Interest:
LONDON:
British Library
Imperial War Museum
Date
and Place of Death:
16th December 1965, Nice, France.
Age at Death:
90.
Site
of Grave:
Ashes were scattered
near the Maugham Library, King's School, Canterbury, Kent, England.
