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The Secret Lives of Somerset Maugham: A Biography, by Selina Hastings
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He was a brilliant teller of tales, one of the most widely read authors of the twentieth century, and at one time the most famous writer in the world, yet W. Somerset Maugham’s own true story has never been fully told. At last, the truth is revealed in a landmark biography by the award-winning writer Selina Hastings. Granted unprecedented access to Maugham’s personal correspondence and to newly uncovered interviews with his only child, Hastings portrays the secret loves, betrayals, integrity, and passion that inspired Maugham to create such classics as The Razor’s Edge and Of Human Bondage. Portrayed in full for the first time is Maugham’s disastrous marriage to Syrie Wellcome, a manipulative society woman who trapped Maugham with a pregnancy and an attempted suicide. Hastings also explores Maugham’s many affairs with men, including his great love, Gerald Haxton, an alcoholic charmer. Maugham’s work in secret intelligence during two world wars is described in fascinating detail—experiences that provided the inspiration for the groundbreaking Ashenden stories. From the West End to Broadway, from China to the South Pacific, Maugham’s remarkably productive life is thrillingly recounted as Hastings uncovers the real stories behind such classics as Rain, The Painted Veil, Cakes & Ale, and other well-known tales.
- Sales Rank: #695507 in Books
- Brand: Brand: Arcade Publishing
- Published on: 2012-07-01
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 9.00" h x 6.00" w x 6.00" l, 1.95 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 640 pages
- Used Book in Good Condition
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. In Hastings's new biography, the facts of Maugham's life form a fascinating narrative because they are full of public incident and accomplishment, shadowed by privately known and whispered secrets, Hastings is the first biographer with permission to quote from Maugham's private papers, and from observations by his daughter, Liza, concerning the disastrous court case instigated by his homosexual companion, Alan Searle, when Maugham (1874–1965), in his dotage, threatened to disinherit Liza. The sordid details, fully disclosed for the first time, reveal the tragic ending to a life that had produced great wealth, exotic travel, and public acclaim. Although Maugham maintained that he was three quarters 'normal' and only a quarter 'queer,' '' Hastings demonstrates that Maugham's great love was his secretary and traveling companion, Gerald Haxton. She also documents the bitter relationship between a reluctantly married Maugham and his notorious wife, Syrie. In addition to his many homosexual love affairs, Hastings reveals Maugham's work as an espionage agent in two world wars. The biographer of Nancy Mitford and Evelyn Waugh, Hastings is a stylish and sensitive writer who addresses her subject's double life with insight and compassion. 32 pages of b&w photos. (June)
Copyright � Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Bookmarks Magazine
Veteran biographer Selina Hastings scrupulously, and with great heart, reexamines the life of Somerset Maugham, one of the most talented and enigmatic writers of the 20th century. The author was given access to the available correspondence, as well as first look at a frank remembrance of her father by Maugham's daughter, Liza. Hastings takes full advantage of the opportunity, deftly handling the complexities of Maugham's character and the writer's careful navigation through the minefields of Victorian and Edwardian social mores. The Secret Lives of Somerset Maugham is not only the rare biography that transcends the mere story of a life; it is also "one of [the year's] outstanding social and literary histories" (Cleveland Plain Dealer). Just don't read it before reading Maugham's works--spoilers abound here.
Review
"[Hastings] provides a searing emotional history...so powerfully written, in places so shocking, as to give a series of physical jolts to the reader. Hasting's book cannot be bettered." -"Sunday Telegraph"
"Brilliant...Every so often, a biography appears of such authority and such power that it is more than a chronicle of a human life, it is a work of art...Such is Selina Hastings' skill that this horrible story is richly enjoyable."--A. N. Wilson, "Reader's Digest"
"A sensitive and sympathetic biography."--"Sunday Times"
"Pitch-perfect: supple, confident and written with something of the same beady detachment (and enjoyable signature streak of malice) as the great tale-teller himself." -Nicholas Shakespeare, "Daily Telegraph"
"The places and people she describes are portrayed with such graphic clarity and assurance. She sets a scene or establishes a personality with great economy and intensity."--"Observer"
"An impressively perceptive and often movin
Most helpful customer reviews
52 of 55 people found the following review helpful.
"...like drinking, writing is an easy habit to form and a devilish hard one to break."
By Cynthia
I've long been a Maugham fan so I looked forward to reading this book. I wasn't disappointed. Hastings includes an amazing level of detail and a nice balance between points about his writing and facts about his personal life. Her source notes, bibliography, and index are about 75 pages and that's without the notes. I find footnotes much more helpful than having to flip to the back. "The Secret Lives" reads like a novel though with lots of specificity. One of the best things was reading Maugham's own thoughts on happenings set against a friend's take on the same incident or perception. It gave a more complete personality study. It was fun to puzzle the relationship between facts and novel characters, speculating how they tied in. This isn't a homage nor is it an expose. Hastings hit a wonderful balance in that regard.
What a life Maugham led. He seems to have known all of English society and people in the arts as well as prominent Americans. Though he was an introvert he loved playing host to his friends but he was strict about blocking out time to write and read. He lost both his parents a few years apart when he was a preteen, he was born in France to a French mother and French was his first language, he stuttered, he had tuberculosis, he worked undercover for Britain in both wars, he spent most of World War II in the American south, he was openly gay around his friends, he spoke many European languages, he had one daughter from an unpleasant marriage, he made lots of money especially from his plays. I enjoyed reading about his travels with his lover through the years and how they worked together to gather expatriot's stories. Many of these stories ended up in his writings. Hastings also included pictures of Maugham and his friends notably one with H.G. Wells and Winston Churchill on an English lawn. Sadly, at the end of his life, he was betrayed by some key people. I could almost understand this if they did it to get his money but they seemed to have done it mostly for a whiff of power. I enjoyed this book immensely; it was well written and well researched.
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful.
Hastings does well with what she has
By Richard A. Jenkins
The initial, British reviews suggested that Hastings' book would be lurid and salacious, while the US reviews suggested something more conventional. My own take is more along the lines of the latter. Hastings approaches her subject without the benefit of new material or any real first hand informants. Maugham burned most of his correspondence and instructed his correspondents to do likewise. Hastings does her best to work from Maugham's writings and the work of others.
The book is compelling throughout but several things knocked off a star for me. Hastings begs questions in places. She speaks of his longtime companion and secretary, Gerald Haxton, providing male companions that Maugham liked, except we never know who was his type. Presumably, it wasn't Haxton's type, which seems to have run toward extremes such as underaged boys and rough trade. She characterizes his later companion, Alan Searle as "not a golddigger" although he proceeds to enrich himself through changes to Maugham's will. Hastings seems to miss the obvious ambivalence in Maugham's relationship with his daughter (whose existence led to the loveless, difficult marriage to her mother) to whom he was dutiful but not affectionate. That relationship made it easy for Searle to gain the upper hand in Maugham's will. She seems unclear about Maugham at the end of life and it's unclear whether he was demented or simply frail. Hastings also descends into trying to impress the reader with her vocabulary in places, where simple description would have sufficed.
Shortcomings aside, the book stimulated my interest in reading more of Maugham's work. He was never popular with "serious" or academic critics, although he was admired by some of his contemporaries such as George Orwell. Maugham did not write experimental fiction or follow the writing trends of his time. Instead, his writing was rather simple and direct with an emphasis on observation. His prose is a bit flowery by current standards, but it holds up better than many of the works of his era that continue to be taught and discussed. My first encounters with Maugham were his travel writing and I found that he captured an essence of SE Asia that remained many decades after his visits. A writer that skilled deserves an audience and, hopefully, Hastings' book will provide some of that.
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful.
Fascinating
By The Christine
This biography is thorough, well-written and despite its length and level of detail, leaves you even more curious about Mr. Maugham. It lends a great deal of insight to his actions, choices and the subjects about whom he wrote *without* extending too much bias, which is something from which many biographies suffer.
Maugham was without a doubt one of the most fascinating, dedicated and talented writers in recent history. What a joy to be able to learn about his life, understand the process he used to craft stories, to get a glimpse of so many of his personal letters and to get a taste of the many interesting (and famous in their own right) people and places he knew and loved.
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