A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
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| Books↙ | 16 |
|---|---|
| Novels↙ | 20 |
| Articles↙ | 189 |
| Collections↙ | 16 |
| Plays↙ | 25 |
| Books edited↙ | 19 |
| Unpublished plays↙ | 11 |
| Collected editions↙ | 22 |
| References and footnotes | |
W. Somerset Maugham (1874 – 1965) was a British playwright, novelist and short story writer. Born in the British Embassy in Paris, where his father worked, Maugham was an orphan by the age of ten.[1] He was raised by an uncle, who tried to persuade the youngster to become an accountant or parson; Maugham instead trained as a doctor, although he never practised professionally, as his first novel, Liza of Lambeth, was published the same year he qualified.[2]
A year after his first novel was published Maugham began contributing to magazines and periodicals; initially these were short stories, but he also wrote opinion pieces, non-fictional and autobiographical work, and letters. Much of his non-fictional writing was published in book form, and covered a range of topics, including travel, current affairs, autobiography and belles lettres.[3][4] Maugham was also editor on a number of works, which often included adding a preface or introductory chapter to the work of other writers. In 1903 his first play was performed, A Man of Honour at the Imperial Theatre, London. It was the first of many of his works that were produced for the stage, and with the later development of cinema, his novels and stories were also adapted for the big screen.[5][6]
By the time of his death in 1965 Maugham was one of the most commercially successful and gifted writers of the twentieth century, according to Bryan Connon, his biographer;[1] The Times obituarist called Maugham "the most assured English writer of his time", and wrote that "no writer of his generation ... graced the world of English letters with more complete or more polished assurance".[3]
Novels and story collections
| Title[7][8][9] | Year of first publication |
First edition publisher (London, unless otherwise stated) |
Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liza of Lambeth | 1897 | T. Fisher Unwin | Novel | [10] |
| The Making of a Saint | 1898 | T. Fisher Unwin | Novel | [11] |
| Orientations | 1899 | T. Fisher Unwin | Short story collection | [12] |
| The Hero | 1901 | Hutchinson | Novel | [13] |
| Mrs Craddock | 1902 | Heinemann | Novel | [14] |
| The Merry-Go-Round | 1904 | Heinemann | Novel | [15] |
| The Bishop's Apron | 1906 | Chapman & Hall | Novel | [16] |
| The Explorer | 1908 | Heinemann | Novel | [17] |
| The Magician | 1908 | Heinemann | Novel | [18] |
| Of Human Bondage | 1915 | George H. Doran Company, New York | Novel | [19] |
| The Moon and Sixpence | 1919 | Heinemann | Novel | [20] |
| The Trembling of a Leaf: Little Stories of the South Sea Islands | 1921 | George H. Doran Company, New York | Short story collection | [21] |
| The Painted Veil | 1925 | Heinemann | Novel | [22] |
| The Casuarina Tree: Six Stories | 1926 | Heinemann | Short story collection; comprises six stories | [23] |
| Ashenden: Or the British Agent | 1928 | Heinemann | Short story collection | [24] |
| Cakes and Ale: or, the Skeleton in the Cupboard | 1930 | Heinemann | Novel | [25] |
| Six Stories Written in the First Person Singular | 1931 | Doubleday, Doran & Co., Garden City, NY | Short story collection | [26] |
| The Book Bag | 1932 | Ray Long & Richard R Smith Inc, New York | Short story collection; comprises 20 stories | [27] |
| The Narrow Corner | 1932 | Heinemann | Novel | [28] |
| Ah King | 1933 | Heinemann | Short story collection | [29] |
| The Judgement Seat | 1934 | Centaur Press | Short story collection | [30] |
| Cosmopolitans | 1936 | Doubleday, Doran & Co., Garden City, NY | Short story collection | [31] |
| Theatre | 1937 | Heinemann | Novel | [32] |
| Christmas Holiday | 1939 | Heinemann | Novel | [33] |
| Princess September and the Nightingale | 1939 | Oxford University Press, Oxford | Short story collection | [34] |
| The Mixture as Before | 1940 | Heinemann | Short story collection | [35] |
| Up at the Villa | 1941 | Heinemann | Novel | [36] |
| The Hour Before the Dawn | 1942 | Doubleday, Doran & Co., Garden City, NY | Novel | [37] |
| The Unconquered | 1944 | House of Books Ltd, New York | Short story collection | [38] |
| The Razor's Edge | 1944 | Heinemann | Novel | [39] |
| Then and Now | 1946 | Heinemann | Novel | [40] |
| Creatures of Circumstance | 1947 | Heinemann | Short story collection | [41] |
| Catalina | 1948 | Heinemann | Novel | [42] |
| Quartet | 1948 | Heinemann | Short story collection | [43] |
| Trio | 1950 | Heinemann | Short story collection by Maugham, screen adaptation by Maugham, R.C. Sherriff and Noel Langley | [44] |
| Encore | 1951 | Heinemann | Short story collection by Maugham, screen adaptation by Maugham, T.E.B Clarke, Arthur Macrae and Eric Ambler | [45] |
Publications in periodicals
| Title[46] | Date of publication |
Periodical |
|---|---|---|
| "Don Sebastian" | October 1898 | Cosmopolis: A Literary Review |
| "Cupid and the Vicar of Swale" | 7 February 1900 | Punch |
| "Lady Habart" | 9 May 1900 | Punch |
| "Schiffbrüchig" | 1903 | The Venture |
| "Pro Patria" | February 1903 | The Pall Mall Magazine |
| "A Man of Honour" | March 1903 | The Fortnightly Review |
| "A Point of Law" | October 1903 | The Strand Magazine |
| "An Irish Gentleman" | September 1904 | The Strand Magazine |
| "A Rehearsal" | 6 December 1905 | The Sketch |
| "Flirtation" | 3 February 1906 | Daily Mail |
| "The Fortunate Painter and the Honest Jew" | 7 March 1906 | Bystander |
| "A Marriage of Convenience" | 23 June 1908 | The Illustrated London News |
| "The Making of a Millionaire" | July 1906 | The Lady's Realm |
| "Good Manners" | May 1907 | Windsor Magazine |
| "Cousin Amy" | March 1908 | The Pall Mall Magazine |
| "The Happy Couple" | May 1908 | Cassell's Magazine |
| "A Traveller in Romance" | 1909 | Printer's Pie Annual |
| "The Mother" | April 1909 | Story-Teller |
| "Pygmalion at Home and Abroad" | May 1914 | The English Review |
| "Gerald Festus Kelly: Student of Character" | January 1915 | The Studio |
| "Mackintosh" | November 1920 | Cosmopolitan |
| "Miss Thompson" | April 1921 | The Smart Set |
| "Red" | April 1921 | Asia |
| "On Writing for the Films" | May 1921 | North American Review |
| "The Pool" | September 1921 | Cosmopolitan |
| "Honolulu" | October 1921 | Everybody's Magazine |
| "My South Sea Island" | 31 January 1922 | Daily Mail |
| "Foreign Devils" | February 1922 | Asia |
| "Fear" | March 1922 | The Century Magazine |
| "A City Built on a Rock" | March 1922 | Youth |
| "Philosopher" | 18 April 1922 | McClure's Magazine |
| "Two Studies – Mr Pete; The Vice-Consul" | 8 July 1922 | Saturday Review |
| "Taipan" | October 1922 | Pearson's Magazine |
| "The Princess and the Nightingale" | December 1922 | Pearson's Magazine and Good Housekeeping |
| "Before the Party" | December 1922 | Nash's Magazine |
| "Bewitched"[a] | February 1923 | International Magazine |
| "Jane" | April 1923 | International Magazine |
| "The Imposters" | November 1923 | Cosmopolitan |
| "Mayhew" | December 1923 | Cosmopolitan |
| "German Harry" | January 1924 | Cosmopolitan |
| "The Force of Circumstance" | February 1924 | International Magazine |
| "In a Strange Land" | February 1924 | Cosmopolitan |
| "The Luncheon" | March 1924 | Nash's Magazine |
| "The Round Dozen" | March 1924 | Good Housekeeping |