Somerset Maugham. Somerset Maugham - biography, information, personal life

A new biography of Somerset Maugham has been published in the UK. Its author, the writer Selina Hastings, became the first Maugham biographer to receive permission from the Royal literary fund read the writer's private correspondence, which Maugham ordered never to be published.

In 1955, when Somerset Maugham was 82, he was asked in an interview whether he wanted his biography to be published in England. Maugham rejected the idea without hesitation. "Life modern writers“,” he said, “are of no interest in themselves.” As for my life, it's just boring, and I don't want to be associated with boredom."

The Secret Life of Somerset Maugham, written by Selina Hastings, refutes this assertion, proving that Maugham's life was a series of exciting adventures, secrets and love affairs. Over the course of sixty years literary career Maugham traveled extensively to exotic countries in Asia, visited Oceania, worked for British intelligence and visited Russia on a spy mission at the height of February Revolution. And at the same time he did not stop writing. He is the author of 21 novels and more than a hundred short stories, and dozens of his plays dominated the theater stages of London and New York at the beginning of the last century. He was a socialite and moved in the artistic and social elite of London, Paris and New York. Among his friends whom he received at his Villa Moresque on the French Riviera are: Winston Churchill, H.G. Wells , Jean Cocteau, Noel Coward. Maugham's life seemed to be spent in the glamor of incredible literary success, and he had a reputation as perhaps the most important writer of his time. However, Selina Hastings in her new biography Maugham lifts the curtain on his complex character, frequent depression - the result of an unhappy childhood and bad marriage. Over the tragic and shocking end of his life when he became a victim of mental illness. "The Secret Life of Somerset Maugham" is destined to become a bestseller, since its hero still remains one of the most popular and readable writers all over the world, including in Russia. Selina Hastings became the first Maugham biographer to gain access to his private correspondence, which he forbade publication. Did you manage to learn anything new about Maugham from it? RS answered the observer’s questions herself Selina Hastings:

I received a lot of new information. For example, I read the letters he wrote in his youth, when he was studying medicine at St. Thomas's Hospital in London. The letters were addressed to his very close friend the artist Gerald Kelly. They contained, in particular, a detailed description of his affair with a charming young actress. There were letters that described how Maugham was forced to marry a woman he did not love. All this, as well as his reading circle, opinions about the friends he met, were contained in letters addressed to Kelly.

- Christopher Isherwood compared Somerset Maugham to an old suitcase covered with numerous hotel stickers, and noted that no one knows what is actually inside the suitcase. What is there, in your opinion?

- What Maugham tried to hide: very passionate, very vulnerable, very emotional person. He showed himself to the world as completely different: a cynic for whom nothing was sacred. And this is more than far from the truth. He was moral a brave man and a true realist. Nothing in human nature could surprise him. He was constantly criticized for his supposed cynicism, but the reason for this was his works. He didn't ignore the low points human nature and demonstrated them mainly in his plays. At the time, people were shocked by this and preferred to call it cynicism rather than realism.

- In his autobiographical notes “Summing Up,” Maugham did not highly appreciate his writing talent. What do you think is his place in English literature?

Maugham was read not only by literature lovers, but also by people who usually did not read anything, who had never visited either bookstores or libraries

- Which of Maugham’s novels do you think most powerfully reflected his personality?

Undoubtedly, this is “The Burden of Human Passions” - his most significant autobiographical novel. Maugham is the main character in this book. In it he portrayed himself practically without any embellishment.

- One of the reviews of your book says that Maugham was not so much a creator as an observer. Do you agree with this?

- Agree. I think Maugham had very little creative imagination- he spoke about this himself. To work, he needed vital material, real life stories, which he used in books and stories. He spent a significant part of his life traveling around the world, as he was constantly in need of fresh material.

- How would you characterize his political beliefs?

- He was a moderate socialist - unlike his brother, the Lord Chancellor, who belonged to the far right wing of the Conservative Party. This is partly because as a young man he spent five years in a hospital in Lambeth, one of London's poorest slums, where he worked as a doctor. Maugham's convictions have always been center-left, and he never betrayed them.

- But Maugham carried out espionage missions for the Conservative government, in particular in Russia. Was he a spy in in every sense words?

Maugham admired Russian literature, studied Russian, spoke Russian, and loved visiting Russia. For all these three reasons, intelligence service opened up very interesting prospects for him.

-You write that sex was one of Maugham's hobbies. What role did sex play in his life?

- In a physiological sense, he was hypersexual, like many creative personalities. In addition, sex for him was one of the ways to get closer to people. But the problem was that he was considered a cold, unattractive person, which was not true, but this was his behavior. With the help of sex, he instantly overcame this popular belief. Maugham was bisexual. However, as he grew older, his homosexuality became more prevalent. He had many affairs with women, he loved them. And if he had married his beloved actress Sue Jones, with whom he had a long affair, this marriage could have been happy for him, because she was very lenient about his homosexual relationships.

Maugham was in love with Gerald Haxton, with whom he had a very long relationship. Haxton was American and twenty years his junior. A charming young man, but very dissolute - a drunkard, a passionate gambler with an uncontrollable and dangerous character. One side of Maugham's personality liked it. The other side of him was very picky and moralistic. But Maugham was always attracted to swindlers, rogues, scoundrels and all sorts of petty crooks - he found them attractive.

- Can Maugham be called an English gentleman?

“He would really like to be called that, and he considered himself one.” However, I think that Maugham was too ambiguous for this; he had to suppress too much in himself. At heart he was a rebel, although outwardly he seemed like an English gentleman - an impeccable three-piece suit, monocle and so on, but his nature was too rebellious.

- Why did Maugham ultimately choose to live in France?

- He married in 1917 and could not get a divorce until 1928. As soon as he got divorced, he immediately left England, in which it was difficult for him to live for many reasons. Of all the countries in Europe, Britain had the toughest laws against homosexuality. He bought a beautiful villa on Cape Ferrat on the French Riviera and turned it into a luxurious home. This completely suited Maugham's tastes and nature. There he enjoyed the company of his famous guests, lived there in fashionable surroundings - with thirteen servants, haute cuisine, swimming pool, cocktails and everything else. However, he was a man in highest degree disciplined and every day at nine in the morning he went up to his tiny office under the roof, where he sat down at his desk and did not leave there until lunch at one in the afternoon. He even covered the window in his office so that the beautiful view of the Mediterranean Sea would not distract him. He followed this routine every day for forty years.

-Has your opinion of Maugham changed after working on his biography?

- In many ways. Before writing the book, I imagined him as a sort of crocodile from Cape Ferrat. Now I find it extremely interesting and deserving of sympathy. This is a difficult man, but an interesting one, and now I have sympathy for him.

- How popular is Maugham now in England and other countries?

Very popular. His books are constantly published, his plays are often staged in Britain, and at times in America. It is incredibly popular in France and Germany. Most recently, his novel The Patterned Veil was made into a film in Hollywood starring Edward Norton and Naomi Watts. Previously, another of his novels was filmed - in the original it was called “Theater”, and in the film it was called “Being Julia”. Adaptations of his plays appear on television, and book circulations increase. They continue to read it.

- John Keats said that the life of a writer is an allegory that has additional meaning for other people. What can be said about Maugham's life in this sense?

- In my opinion, the most important theme running through his life and books is the essential importance of freedom for a person and an artist. He wrote with unflagging force about people trapped in marriage or similar situations. He never tired of proving how destructive this is to the human spirit. This is also true for him own life. He was trapped in his terrible marriage and trapped by his country's laws against homosexuality at the time. We must give him his due: he always fought for his freedom. I think that this is exactly what can be called an allegory of his life.

English writer Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) was born and died in France.

He was the youngest (sixth) son of a lawyer at the British Embassy. The parents specially prepared for the birth on the embassy grounds so that the child would have legal grounds to be considered a British citizen. Maugham's first native language was French. On French Somerset spoke for the first ten years of his life. He lost his parents at the age of 10, after which the boy was sent to England, where he lived in the city of Whitstable in the family of his uncle, a vicar.

It so happened that upon his arrival in England, Maugham began to stutter, and this remained for the rest of his life.

“I was short; hardy, but not physically strong; I stuttered, was shy and in poor health. I had no inclination for sport, which occupies such an important place in English life; and - either for one of these reasons, or from birth - I instinctively avoided people, which prevented me from getting along with them.”

He graduated from the University of Heidelberg, then studied medicine in London for six years. He received his doctorate in 1897, but left medical practice after his first novels and plays became successful.

For ten years Maugham lived and wrote in Paris. His first novel, Lisa of Lambeth, appeared in 1897. In 1903, the first play, “A Man of Honor,” was written, and already in 1904, four of Maugham’s plays were performed simultaneously on stages in London.

A real breakthrough was the almost autobiographical novel "The Burden of Human Passions" (1915), which is considered best work Maugham.

During the First World War, under the guise of a reporter, Maugham worked for British intelligence in Russia in order to prevent it from withdrawing from the war. From August to November 1917 he was in Petrograd, meeting several times with Alexander Kerensky, Boris Savinkov and others politicians. Left Russia through Sweden due to the failure of his mission (October Revolution).

The intelligence officer’s work was reflected in the collection of 14 short stories “Ashenden, or the British Agent.”

Stuttering and health problems prevented further career in this field.

Maugham and his friend go on a trip to eastern Asia, islands Pacific Ocean and Mexico.

In 1928 he settled in France.

Maugham continued successful career playwright, writing the plays “The Circle” (1921), “Sheppey” (1933). The novels “The Moon and a Penny” (1919), “Pies and Beer” (1930), “Theater” (1937), and “The Razor’s Edge” (1944) were also successful.

Maugham believed that true harmony lies in the contradictions of society, that what is normal is not really the norm. " Everyday life is the richest field for a writer to explore.“- he stated in the book “Summing Up” (1938).

Maugham's popularity abroad in the thirties was higher than in England. He once said: “Most people do not see anything, I see very clearly in front of my nose; great writers can see through a brick wall. My vision is not so insightful.”

In 1928, Maugham bought a villa in Cap Ferrat on the French Riviera. This villa became the writer's home for the rest of his life; it played the role of one of the great literary and social salons. The writer was sometimes visited by Herbert Wells, Winston Churchill, and occasionally Soviet writers were here. By 1940, Somerset Maugham had already become one of the most famous and wealthy writers of English fiction.

In 1944, Maugham's novel The Razor's Edge was published. During the Second World War, Maugham, who was already over sixty, was mostly in the United States. He was forced to leave France by the occupation and the inclusion of Maugham's name on the Nazi blacklists.

The writer approved the Somerset Maugham Prize in 1947, which was awarded to the best English writers under the age of 35.

When Maugham felt that traveling had nothing more to offer him, he gave up traveling:

After 1948, Maugham left fiction and drama, writing essays mainly in literary themes.

On December 15, 1965, Somerset Maugham died at the age of 92 in the French town of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, near Nice, from pneumonia. Dying, he said:

“Dying is a boring and joyless thing. My advice to you is never do this.” The writer does not have a grave as such, since his ashes were scattered under the wall of the Maugham Library, at the Royal School in Canterbury.

Somerset Maugham was the most popular prose writer and playwright of the 30s - he wrote more than 78 books, theaters staged more than 30 of his plays. In addition, Maugham's works have often been successfully filmed.

If we talk about the writer's personal life, Somerset Maugham was for a long time married Siri Welcome, with whom he had a daughter, Mary Elizabeth. The couple later divorced. At one time he was in love with actress Sue Jones, whom he was ready to marry again. However, Maugham had the longest relationship with the American Gerald Haxton, a drunkard and avid gambler, who was his secretary.

In his autobiography "Summing Up" (1938), he said that he "stood in the first row of the second-rate."

About Somerset Maugham:

• "Before you write new novel, I always re-read “Candide” so that later I can unconsciously measure up to this standard of clarity, grace and wit.”

• He always placed his desk opposite a blank wall so that nothing would distract him from his work. He worked three to four hours in the morning, fulfilling his self-imposed quota of 1000-1500 words.

• “I would not go to see my plays at all, neither on the opening night, nor on any other evening, if I did not consider it necessary to test their effect on the public, in order to learn from this how to write them.”

Maugham's aphorisms:

• “The God who can be understood is no longer God.”

• “Life is ten percent what you do in it, and ninety percent how you take it.”

Maugham. Maugham William Somerset (1874 1965) English writer. Aphorisms, quotes by Maugham William Somerset. Maugham. Biography Life is too short to do for yourself what others can do for you for money. ...

- (Maugham) (1874 1965), English writer. In the autobiographical novel of education “The Burden of Human Passions” (1915) spiritual formation hero, his acquisition of humanistic ideals. Relationship problem creative personality and society... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

Maugham William Somerset (25.1.1874, Paris, ≈ 16.12.1965, Saint-Jean Cap Ferrat, France), English writer. Born into the family of a lawyer at the British Embassy in France. Received a medical education; practice in a poor quarter of London gave... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

Maugham, William Somerset- Maughem William Somerset (1874 1965), English writer. In the confessional novel “The Burden of Human Passions” (1915) the spiritual formation of the hero, his acquisition of humanistic ideals. The problem of the artist’s relationship with society, self-worth... ... Illustrated encyclopedic Dictionary

- (Maugham, William Somerset) WILLIAM SOMERSET Maugham. Portrait by P. Steegman (1931). (1874 1965), English writer. Born January 25, 1874 in Paris. His father was a co-owner of a law firm there and a legal attaché at the British Embassy... Collier's Encyclopedia

MAAWH William Somerset- Maugham William Somerset (18741965), English writer. Plays “A Man of Honor” (1903), “Lady Frederick” (1907), “The Unknown” (1920), “The Circle” (1921), “East of Suez” (1922), “For Faithful Service” (1932), "Sheppie" (1933) and others. Rum. "Lisa … Literary encyclopedic dictionary

Maugham William Somerset (1874 1965) Maugham William Somerset. Maugham. Biography of English writer. Somerset Maugham was born on January 25, 1874 in Paris, in the family of a lawyer at the British Embassy in France. Since childhood, I spoke better in... Consolidated encyclopedia of aphorisms

Somerset Maugham Somerset Maugham Birth name: William Somerset Maugham Date of birth: January 25, 1874 Place of birth: Paris, France Date of death: December 16 ... Wikipedia

Somerset Maugham Somerset Maugham Birth name: William Somerset Maugham Date of birth: January 25, 1874 Place of birth: Paris, France Date of death: December 16 ... Wikipedia

Books

• William Somerset Maugham. Collected Works in 5 volumes (set), William Somerset Maugham. The first volume of the Collection of the famous English writer William Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) includes the novel “The Burden of Human Passions,” written in 1915, and autobiographical essays...
• Moon and penny. Notebooks, Maugham William Somerset. Somerset Maugham is one of the most widely read English writers, second only to Charles Dickens. “The Moon and a Penny” is a novel of big questions that art has inherited from past centuries: what...

Somerset Maugham - British writer, one of the most successful prose writers of the 1930s, British intelligence agent - born January 25, 1874 in Paris, in the family of Robert Ormond Maugham, a lawyer at the British Embassy in France.

The parents specially prepared for the birth on the territory of the embassy so that the child would have legal grounds to say that he was born in Great Britain: it was expected that a law would be passed according to which all children born on French territory would automatically become French citizens and thus, upon reaching adulthood, would be sent to front in case of war. His grandfather, Robert Maugham, was at one time a famous lawyer, one of the co-organizers of the English Law Society. Both William Maugham's grandfather and father predicted his fate as a lawyer. And although I myself William Maugham did not become a lawyer, his elder brother Frederick, later Viscount Maugham, was content with a legal career and served as Lord Chancellor (1938-1939).

As a child, Maugham spoke only French, mastered English only after he was orphaned at the age of 10 (his mother died of consumption in February 1882, his father died of stomach cancer in June 1884) and was sent to relatives in English city Whitstable in Kent, six miles from Canterbury. Upon arrival in England, Maugham began to stutter - this remained for the rest of his life.

Since William was brought up by Henry Maugham, a vicar in Whitstable, he began his studies at the King's School in Canterbury. He then studied literature and philosophy at the University of Heidelberg. In Heidelberg, Maugham wrote his first work - a biography of the composer Meyerbeer. When it was rejected by the publisher, Maugham burned the manuscript.

In 1892 Maugham entered medical school at St. Thomas in London - this experience was reflected in his first novel, Lisa of Lambeth ( 1897 ). Maugham's first success in the field of literature came with the play "Lady Frederick" ( 1907 ).

During the First World War, he collaborated with MI5 and was sent to Russia as an agent of British intelligence to prevent it from withdrawing from the war. Arrived there by ship from the USA, to Vladivostok. Was in Petrograd from August to November 1917, repeatedly met with Alexander Kerensky, Boris Savinkov and other political figures. After the failure of his mission due to October Revolution left Russia via Sweden.

The intelligence officer’s work was reflected in the collection of 14 short stories “Ashenden, or the British Agent” ( 1928 ).

After the war, Maugham continued his successful career as a playwright, writing The Circle ( 1921 ), "Sheppie" ( 1933 ). Maugham's novels, "The Burden of Human Passions" ( 1915 ) - an almost autobiographical novel, “The Moon and a Penny” ( 1919 ), "Pies and Beer" ( 1930 ), "Theater" ( 1937 ), "Razor's Edge" ( 1944 ).

In July 1919 Maugham, in pursuit of new impressions, went to China, and later to Malaysia, which gave him material for two collections of stories.

A villa in Cap Ferrat on the French Riviera was bought by Maugham in 1928 and became one of the great literary and social salons and the writer's home for the rest of his life. The writer was sometimes visited by Winston Churchill, Herbert Wells, and occasionally Soviet writers were here. His work continued to expand with plays, short stories, novels, essays and travel books. By 1940 Somerset Maugham has already become one of the most famous and richest writers in Britain. Maugham always placed his desk opposite a blank wall so that nothing would distract him from his work. He worked for three to four hours in the morning, fulfilling his self-imposed quota of 1000-1500 words.

In 1944 Maugham's novel The Razor's Edge was published. For most of the Second World War, Maugham, who was already over sixty, was in the United States - first in Hollywood, where he worked hard on scripts, making amendments to them, and later in the South.

In 1947 The writer approved the Somerset Maugham Prize, which was awarded to the best English writers under the age of thirty-five.

Maugham gave up traveling when he felt that it had nothing more to offer him. After 1948 Maugham abandoned drama and fiction, writing essays mainly on literary topics.

The last lifetime publication of Maugham’s work, autobiographical notes “Looking into the Past,” was published autumn 1962 on the pages of London's Sunday Express.

Somerset Maugham died December 15, 1965 at the 92nd year of life in the French town of Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, near Nice, from pneumonia. The writer does not have a grave as such, since his ashes were scattered under the wall of the Maugham Library, at the Royal School in Canterbury.

Some of Maugham's works:

Novels:
"Liza of Lambeth" 1897 )
"The Making of a Saint" 1898 )
"Hero" (The Hero, 1901 )
"Mrs Craddock" 1902 )
"Carousel" (The Merry-go-round, 1904 )
"The Bishop's Apron" 1906 )
"The Conqueror of Africa" ​​(The Explorer, 1908 )
"The Magician" 1908 )
“The Burden of Human Passions” (Of Human Bondage, 1915 )
"The Moon and Sixpence" 1919 ,)
"The Painted Veil" 1925 )
“Cakes and Ale: or, the Skeleton in the Cupboard, 1930 )
"The Narrow Corner" 1932 )
"Theater" 1937 )
"Christmas Holiday" 1939 )
"Villa on the Hill" (Up at the Villa, 1941 )
"The Hour Before Dawn" 1942 )
"The Razor's Edge" 1944 )
“Then and now. A Novel about Niccolò Machiavelli" (Then and Now, 1946 )
"Catalina" 1948 )

Collectionsstories:
"Orientations" 1899 )
"The Trembling of a Leaf" 1921 )
"Casuarina" (The Casuarina Tree, 1926 )
"Ashenden, or the British Agent" 1928 )
"Six Stories Written in the First Person" (First Person Singular, 1931 )
"Ah King: Six Stories" (Ah King, 1933 )
"Cosmopolitans - Very Short Stories, 1936 )
"According to the same recipe" (The Mixture As Before, 1940 )
"Toys of Fate" (Creatures of Circumstance, 1947 )

Plays:
“A Man of Honor” (post. 23.02.1903 - London)
"Lady Frederick" (post. 26.12.1907 - London)
"Jack Straw" (post. 26.03.1908 - London, Vaudeville Theater)
"Mrs. Dot" (post. 27.04.1908 - London)
"Penelope" (post. 09.01.1909 - London)
"Smith" (Smith, post. 30.09.1909 - London)
"Grace"
“The Tenth Man” (post. Feb. 1910- London, Globe Theater)
"Landed Gentry" 1910 )
"The Unattainable" 1911 )
"Loaves and Fishes" (post. 24.02.1911 - London)
"Immaculate Gentleman" (post. 1913 - London, His Majesty's Theatre)
“The Land of Promise” (post. 1913 - New York, Post. 26.02.1914 - London)
"Caroline" (post. Feb. 1916- London)
"Our Betters" 1917 )
"Love in the Cottage" (post . 26.01.1918 - London, Globe Theater)
"Home and Beauty" ( 1919 )
“Caesar’s Wife” (post. 27.03.1919 - London) (247 performances)
“The Unknown” (post. 09.08.1920 - London)
“Home and Beauty” (post. 30.08.1920 - London) (235 performances)
"Circle" ( The Circle, post. 03.03.1921 - London, Haymarket Theater)
“East of Suez” (East of Suez, post. 02.09.1922 - London)
"Miss Thompson" (post. 07.11.1922 - New York, Broadway
Superiors" (post. 12.09.1923 - London, Globe Theater)
"Camel's Hump" (post. 13.11.1923 - NY)
"Rain" (post. 12.05.1925 - London) (150 performances)
“The Moon and a Penny” (post. 04.09.1925 - London)
“The Constant Wife” (post. 01.11.1926 - Cleveland) (295 performances)
“The Letter” (post. 24.02.1927 - London) (338 performances)
"The Sacred Flame" (post. 19.11.1928 - NY)
“The Bread-Winner” (post. 30.09.1930 - London, Vaudeville Theater (158 performances)
“For Merit” (For Services Rendered, post 01.11.1932 - London, Globe Theater)
"Sheppie" (post. 14.09.1933 - London)

Somerset Maugham was born on January 25, 1874 at the British Embassy in Paris. This birth of a child was more planned than accidental. Because at that time a law was written in France, the essence of which was that all young men born on French territory had to be drafted into the army upon reaching adulthood.

Naturally, the very thought that their son, with English blood flowing in his veins, could soon join the ranks of the army that would fight against England frightened the parents and required decisive action. There was only one way to avoid this kind of situation - by giving birth to a child on the territory of the English embassy, ​​which, according to existing laws, was equivalent to birth on the territory of England.

William was the fourth child in the family. And from the very early childhood he was predicted to have a future as a lawyer, since both his father and grandfather were prominent lawyers, two brothers later became lawyers, and the second brother Frederick Herbert, who later became Lord Chancellor and Peer of England, was considered the most successful. But, as time has shown, the plans were not destined to come true.

Being born in Paris could not but affect the child. For example, a boy up to the age of eleven spoke only French. And the reason that prompted the child to start learning English was sudden death his mother Edith of consumption when he was eight, and his father died two years later. As a result, the boy finds himself in the care of his uncle Henry Maugham, who lived in the city of Whitstable in England, in the county of Kent. My uncle was a parish priest.

This period of life was not happy for little Maugham. My uncle and his wife were very callous, boring and rather stingy people. The boy also faced an acute problem of communicating with his guardians. Not knowing in English, he could not establish relationships with new relatives. And, in the end, the result of such ups and downs in the young man’s life was that he began to stutter and Maugham would have this disease for the rest of his life.

William Maugham was sent to study at the Royal School, which was located in Canterbury, an ancient town located southeast of London. And here little William had more reasons for concern and worry than for happiness. He was constantly teased by his peers for his natural short stature and stuttering. English with a distinctive French accent was also a source of ridicule.

Therefore, moving to Germany in 1890 to study at the University of Heidelberg was an indescribable, indescribable happiness. Here he finally begins to study literature and philosophy, trying with all his might to get rid of his inherent accent. Here he will write his first work - a biography of the composer Meyerbeer. True, this work will not cause a “storm of applause” from the publisher and Maugham will burn it, but this will be his first conscious attempt at writing.

In 1892, Maugham moved to London and entered medical school. This decision was not caused by a craving and inclination for medicine, but was made only because a young man from a decent family needed to get some more or less decent profession, and his uncle’s pressure also had an influence in this matter. Subsequently, he would receive a diploma as a physician and surgeon, and even work for some time at St. Thomas's Hospital, which was located in one of the poorest areas of London.

But the most important thing for him during this period was literature. Even then he clearly understands that this is precisely his calling and at night he begins to write his first creations. On weekends, he visits theaters and the Tivoli music hall, where he will watch all the performances that he could watch from the very back seats.

The period of his life associated with his medical career is visible in his novel "Lisa of Lambeth", which was published by Fisher Unwin in 1897. The novel was accepted by both professionals and the general public. The first editions sold out in a matter of weeks, which gave Maugham confidence in the correctness of his choice towards literature rather than medicine.

1898 reveals William Maugham Somerset as a playwright, he writes his first play, “Man of Honor,” which will premiere on the stage of a modest theater only five years later. The play did not cause any furor, it was performed only for two evenings, and the reviews from critics were, to put it mildly, terrible. In fairness, it is worth noting that later, a year later, Maugham would remake this play, radically changing the ending. And already in the commercial theater "Avenue Theater" the play will be shown more than twenty times.

Despite his relatively unsuccessful first experience in drama, within ten years William Somerset Maugham would become a widely known and recognized playwright. The comedy Lady Frederick, which was staged in 1908 on the Court Theater stage, enjoyed particular success. A number of plays were also written that raised issues of inequality in society, hypocrisy, and corruption of representatives different levels authorities.

These plays were received by society and critics differently - some sharply criticized them, others praised them for their wit and theatricality. However, despite the mixed reviews, it should be noted that on the eve of the First World War, Maugham Somerset became a recognized playwright, performances based on whose works were successfully staged both in England and abroad.

At the beginning of the war, the writer served with the British Red Cross. Subsequently, employees of the well-known British intelligence service MI5 recruit him into their ranks. So the writer becomes an intelligence officer and goes first to Switzerland for a year and then to Russia to carry out a secret mission, the purpose of which was to prevent Russia from leaving the war. He met with such famous political players of the time as A.F. Kerensky, B.V. Savinkov. and others.

Maugham would later write that this idea was doomed to failure and he turned out to be a poor agent. The first positive aspect of this mission was Maugham’s discovery of Russian literature. In particular, he discovered Dostoevsky F.M., and was especially amazed by the works of Chekhov A.P., even began to learn Russian in order to read Anton Pavlovich in the original. The second point was Maugham’s writing of a collection of short stories, “Ashenden or the British Agent,” dedicated to espionage themes.

During the period between the two world wars, the writer wrote a lot and also traveled often, which gave him the basis for writing new and new works. Now these are not only novels or plays, but also a number of short stories, sketches, and essays have been written. A special place in the writer’s work is the autobiographical novel “The Burden of Human Passions.” Writers of the time such as Thomas Wolfe and Theodore Dreiser recognized the novel as a genius. During the same period of time, Maugham gravitated towards a new direction for him - socio-psychological drama. Examples of such works are “The Unknown”, “For Merit”, “Sheppy”.

When did the second one begin? World War Maugham was in France. And it was not by chance that he ended up there, but by order of the Ministry of Information he was supposed to study the mood of the French and visit ships in Toulon. The result of such actions were articles that give the reader complete confidence that France will fight to the end and will survive this confrontation. His book “France at War” is permeated with the same sentiments.

And just three months after the book’s publication, France would surrender, and Maugham would need to urgently leave the country for England, as there were rumors that the Germans had blacklisted his name. From England he travels to the USA, where he arrives until the end of the war. Returning to France after the war was full of sadness - his house was looted, the country was in complete devastation, but the main positive point was that the hated fascism was not just stopped, but destroyed to the ground and it was possible to live and write further.

And it is no coincidence that this post-war period Somerset Maugham writes historical novels. In the books “Then and Now” and “Catalina” the writer talks about power and its influence on people, about rulers and their policies, and pays attention to true patriotism. These novels show a new style of writing novels; there is a lot of tragedy in them. “The Razor's Edge” is one of the last, if not the last, significant novel of the writer. The novel was definitive in many respects. When Maugham was once asked: “How long did it take him to write this book,” the answer was “All his life.”

In 1947, the writer decides to approve the Somerset Maugham Prize, which should be awarded to the best English writers under the age of 35. In June 1952, the writer was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters degree at Oxford.

In his last years, he immersed himself in writing essays. And the book “Great Writers and Their Novels,” published in 1848, is a clear confirmation of this. In this book, the reader meets such heroes as Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, Dickens and Emily Bronte, Fielding and Jane Austen, Stendhal and Balzac, Melville and Flaubert. All these great people accompanied Maugham throughout his long life.

Later, in 1952, his collection “Changable Moods” was published, consisting of six essays, where memories of such novelists as G. James, G. Wells and A. Bennett, with whom Somerset Maugham was personally acquainted, are visible.

The writer died on December 15, 1965. It happened in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, France. The cause of death was pneumonia. The writer does not have a burial place as such; it was decided to scatter his ashes under the wall of the Maugham Library, at the Royal School in Canterbury.