Secret Lives Somerset Maugham

　　He was a brilliant teller of tales, one of the most widelyread authors of the twentieth century, and at one time the mostfamous writer in the world, yet W. Somerset Maugham’s own truestory has never been fully told. At last, the fascinating truth isrevealed in a landmark biography by the award-winning writer SelinaHastings. Granted unprecedented access to Maugham’s personalcorrespondence and to newly uncovered interviews with his onlychild, Hastings portrays the secret loves, betrayals, integrity,and passion that inspired Maugham to create such classics as TheRazor’s Edge and Of Human Bondage.

　　Hastings vividly presents Maugham’s lonely childhood spentwith unloving relatives after the death of his parents, a traumathat resulted in shyness, a stammer, and for the rest of his lifean urgent need for physical tenderness. Here, too, are his adulttriumphs on the stage and page, works that allowed him a glitteringsocial life in which he befriended and sometimes fell out with suchluminaries as Dorothy Parker, Charlie Chaplin, D. H. Lawrence, andWinston Churchill.

　　The Secret Lives of Somerset Maugham portrays in full for thefirst time Maugham’s disastrous marriage to Syrie Wellcome, amanipulative society woman of dubious morality who trapped Maughamwith a pregnancy and an attempted suicide. Hastings also exploresMaugham’s many affairs with men, including his great love, GeraldHaxton, an alcoholic charmer and a cad. Maugham’s courageous workin secret intelligence during two world wars is described infascinating detail—experiences that provided the inspiration forthe groundbreaking Ashenden stories. From the West End to Broadway,from China to the South Pacific, Maugham’s restless and remarkablyproductive life is thrillingly recounted as Hastings uncovers thereal stories behind such classics as “Rain,” The Painted Veil,Cakes & Ale, and other well-known tales.

　　An epic biography of a hugely talented and hugely conflictedman, The Secret Lives of Somerset Maugham is the definitive accountof Maugham’s extraordinary life.

　　[Hastings] provides a searing emotional history…so powerfullywritten, in places so shocking, as to give a series of physicaljolts to the reader. Hasting's book cannot be bettered. –SundayTelegraph
　　
　　"Brilliant…Every so often, a biography appears of such authorityand such power that it is more than a chronicle of a human life, itis a work of art…Such is Selina Hastings' skill that this horriblestory is richly enjoyable."—A. N. Wilson, Reader's Digest
　　
　　"A sensitive and sympathetic biography."—Sunday Times
　　
　　"Pitch-perfect: supple, confident and written with something ofthe same beady detachment (and enjoyable signature streak ofmalice) as the great tale-teller himself." –Nicholas Shakespeare,Daily Telegraph
　　
　　"The places and people she describes are portrayed with suchgraphic clarity and assurance. She sets a scene or establishes apersonality with great economy and intensity."—Observer
　　
　　"An impressively perceptive and often moving account of anextraordinarily interesting man."—Literary Review
　　
　　"Excellent…wholly convincing and always interesting…anoutstanding biography."—Scotsman
　　
　　"Engrossing…a brilliant evocation." –Financial Times
　　
　　"The more we know about Somerset Maugham, the more admirable hebecomes—the more, in short, he seems the witty, cynical, eminentlysensible fellow that comes across in his writing. And here, atlast, Maugham has gotten the magnificent biography he deserves.Marshaling all the known evidence, Selena Hastings shows us the manin the round: she is generous but shrewd in her assessment ofMaugham's work, and resolutely unshocked by the 'scandalous'details of his private life. Indeed, much of Hastings' book readslike an almost incredible success story, were it not for the rathercrucial fact that Maugham attached himself, haplessly, to worthlesscharacters who didn't love him. The ramifications are everywhere(but subtly) present in these pages, and lead inexorably to thefinal tragedy. Count no man happy until he dies." —Blake Bailey,author of Cheever: A Life　
　　
　　"A fascinating narrative … full of public incident andaccomplishment, shadowed by privately known and whisperedsecrets…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…Hastings is a stylish andsensitive writer who addresses her subject's double life withinsight and compassion."—Publishers Weekly, starred review　
　　
　　"Monumentally engaging… All of the drama, intrigue, heartbreakand joy that marked Maugham’s life is reconstructed by the authorin enthralling, novelistic prose. A powerful, revealing andauthoritative depiction of one the 20th century’s most notoriousliterary figures." —Kirkus