Biography
William Somerset Maugham CH (25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German university. He became a medical student in London and qualified as a physician in 1897. He never practised medicine, and became a full-time writer. His first novel, Liza of Lambeth (1897), a study of life in the slums, attracted attention, but it was as a playwright that he first achieved national celebrity. By 1908 he had four plays running at once in the West End of London. He wrote his 32nd and last play in 1933, after which he abandoned the theatre and concentrated on novels and short stories.
Maugham's novels after Liza of Lambeth include Of Human Bondage (1915), The Moon and Sixpence (1919), The Painted Veil (1925), Cakes and Ale (1930) and The Razor's Edge (1944). His short stories were published in collections such as The Casuarina Tree (1926) and The Mixture as Before (1940); many of them have been adapted for radio, cinema and television. His great popularity and prodigious sales provoked adverse reactions from highbrow critics, many of whom sought to belittle him as merely competent. More recent assessments generally rank Of Human Bondage − a book with a large autobiographical element − as a masterpiece, and his short stories are widely held in high critical regard. Maugham's plain prose style became known for its lucidity, but his reliance on clichés attracted adverse critical comment.
During the First World War Maugham worked for the British Secret Service, later drawing on his experiences for stories published in the 1920s. Although primarily homosexual, he attempted to conform to some extent with the norms of his day. He became a father and husband, marrying Syrie Wellcome in 1917, three years into an affair that produced their daughter, Liza. The marriage lasted for twelve years, but before, during and after it, Maugham's principal partner was a younger man, Gerald Haxton. Together they made extended visits to Asia, the South Seas and other destinations; Maugham gathered material for his fiction wherever they went. They lived together in the French Riviera, where Maugham entertained lavishly. After Haxton's death in 1944, Alan Searle became Maugham's secretary-companion for the rest of the author's life. Maugham gave up writing novels shortly after the Second World War, and his last years were marred by senility. He died at the age of 91.
Description above from the Wikipedia article W. Somerset Maugham, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Filmography
all 87
Movies 83
Writer 78
TV Shows 4
self 1
The Scar (2016)
The Painted Veil (2006)
Being Julia (2004)
Up at the Villa (2000)
Change of Fortune (1987)
The Razor's Edge (1984)
Overnight Sensation (1984)
The Letter (1982)
Wilson's Reward (1980)
Sly Female… Sly Woman! (1980)
Gigolo and Gigolette (1980)
Jane (1979)
Театр (1979)
Tales of the Unexpected (1979)
Theatre (1978)
Diener und andere Herren (1978)
Sonntagsgeschichten (1976)
Rex Harrison Presents Stories of Love (1974)
The Tragedy of Dr. Hosny (1973)
Eine konsequente Frau (1971)
Alta comedia (1970)
Constance (1969)
Kouzlo domova (1966)
Kaakum Karangal (1965)
Of Human Bondage (1964)
Der Kreis (1964)
Lady Frederick (1963)
Heute kündigt mir mein Mann (1963)
Adorable Julia (1962)
Finden Sie, daß Constanze sich richtig verhält? (1962)
Die ewige Flamme (1961)
A String of Beads (1961)
Finden Sie, dass Constanze sich richtig verhält? (1960)
Bezaubernde Julia (1960)
Das Land der Verheißung (1960)
The Moon and Sixpence (1959)
The Traitor (1959)
The Seventh Sin (1957)
Three Cases of Murder (1955)
Three for the Show (1955)
The Beachcomber (1954)
Miss Sadie Thompson (1953)
Encore (1951)
Somerset Maugham Theatre (1950)
Trio (1950)
Quartet (1948)
The Unfaithful (1947)
The Razor's Edge (1946)
Of Human Bondage (1946)
Somewhere in the Night (1946)
Dirty Gertie from Harlem U.S.A. (1946)
Christmas Holiday (1944)
The Hour Before the Dawn (1944)
The Moon and Sixpence (1942)
The Letter (1940)
Too Many Husbands (1940)
The Circle (1939)
Vessel of Wrath (1938)
Another Dawn (1937)
Isle of Fury (1936)
The Tenth Man (1936)
Secret Agent (1936)
The Right to Live (1935)
The Painted Veil (1934)
Of Human Bondage (1934)
The Narrow Corner (1933)
Our Betters (1933)
Rain (1932)
The Holy Flames (1931)
The Letter (1931)
Woman in the Jungle (1931)
The Letter (1930)
Strictly Unconventional (1930)
The Sacred Flame (1929)
Charming Sinners (1929)
The Letter (1929)
Sadie Thompson (1928)
The Canadian (1926)
The Magician (1926)
Camille: The Fate of a Coquette (1926)
Infatuation (1925)
The Circle (1925)
East of Suez (1925)
The Ordeal (1922)
Jack Straw (1920)
The Divorcee (1919)
The Land of Promise (1917)
Ratings
Information
Known ForWriting
GenderMale
Birthday1874-01-25
Deathday1965-12-16 (91 years old)
Birth PlaceParis, France
Height
RelationshipsSyrie Maugham (1917-05-01 - 1929-01-01)
ChildrenMary Elizabeth Maugham
FatherRobert Ormond Maugham
MotherEdith Mary Snell
SiblingsHenry Neville Maugham
CitizenshipsUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom
Also Known AsWilliam Somerset Maugham, Somerset Maugham
AwardsCompanion of Honour
This article uses material from Wikipedia.
- W. Somerset Maugham
- Filmography
- Information
- Related Persons