"A novelist must preserve a child-like belief in the importance of things that common sense considers of no consequence"When Maugham was born—in the British Embassy in Paris in 1874—he was destined to become a lawyer. His father and grandfather had been prominent attorneys, and his oldest brother went on to become England's Lord Chancellor. However, Maugham had a severe stammer, which left him afraid to speak; so there were no plans for him to following the family tradition. Furthermore, he was orphaned by the age of 10 and was sent to England to be raised by an uncle, a clergyman. These circumstances led the young Maugham to be shy and withdrawn; consequently he became an observer rather than an active participant, but he was able to turn this to his advantage as a writer. The unhappiness and anxiety of his early life were recounted in his autobiographical novel, Of Human Bondage (1915), in which his stammer became a deformed foot for the protagonist.
'What has influenced my life more than any other single thing has been my stammer. Had I not stammered I would probably... have gone to Cambridge as my brothers did, perhaps have become a don and every now and then published a dreary book about French literature.'
His first three novels of the world are:
It is not widely known today that Maugham realized his first major success not as a novelist or short story writer but as a playwright. After Liza of Lambeth, he spent 10 years turning out unsuccessful novels, short stories, and plays. An admirer of Ibsen, he wanted to write dramas confronting social issues of the day. His first produced play, A Man of Honour (1903), a starkly realistic drama of the consequences of misguided virtue, had little success. This play's distinction today is for the collector, and Maugham later referred to it as his scarcest work. The most readable novel from this early period is probably Mrs.Craddock (1902), with its theme of a woman's liberation from traditional Victorian society.
However in 1907, Maugham achieved the fame and success that he had worked for. Since his early writing was described by critics as gloomy and depressing, he tried his hand at lighter social themes.Lady Frederick (1907), the story of a high society lady who tries to discourage a persistent young suitor, was an instant success with a long run in London's West End. By 1908, he had four plays running simultaneously in London. With the exception of Of Human Bondage, Maugham did not return to writing novels or short stories for more than 10 years. He became a man-about-town, the successful, rich, and witty satirist of British society.
'It is funny about life: if you refuse to accept anything but the very best you will very often get it.'
"I have never pretended to be anything but a story teller. It has amused me to tell stories and I have told a great many. It is a misfortune for me that the telling of a story just for the sake of the story is not an activity that is in favor with the intelligentsia. In endeavor to bear my misfortunes with fortitude."
(from Creatures of Circumstance, 1947)
Maugham continued to write successful plays, at least one, The Letter (1927), with a Far East setting. He returned to social criticism with more success—and more controversy—than earlier in his career with dramas such as The Unknown (1920), The Sacred Flame (1928), and For Services Rendered (1932). His last play Sheppey, was written in 1933. Maugham published Ashenden in 1928, a group of short stories based on his experience as a British espionage agent during World War I. For the first time, a spy was portrayed as gentlemanly, sophisticated, and aloof. Ian Fleming, later a friend of Maugham, said that Ashenden influenced his own writing of spy stories.
