Mrs. Craddock

Maugham, W. Somerset (William Somerset), 1874-1965Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.8

Word count: 542K words
Chapters: 55

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Mrs. Craddock by W. Somerset MaughamAuthor: Maugham, W. Somerset (William Somerset), 1874-1965,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Nov 26, 2014

Editor's review

Mrs. Craddock is one of Maugham's early novels, made available as a public-domain eBook by Project Gutenberg. Compared with Maugham's later, better-known works, this novel deals more directly with the misalignments within marriage: how a woman who holds ardent expectations of life encounters disillusionment and self-awakening in a real marriage. Its readability comes from Maugham's consistently clear narrative and cool observation of character; it relies not on elaborate technique but on a sustained scrutiny of human weaknesses. When reading, pay attention to the turning points in the heroine's psychological changes, and to the narrator's attitudes toward marriage, class, and gender roles. As a public-domain text, it works well as a starting point for entering Maugham's world of novels, and also for comparison with his other works, to observe the irony and restraint already evident in his early writing.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Literary readers who want to understand Maugham's novel-writing and are willing to start from his early works
Fiction readers interested in themes of marriage, gender roles, and personal awakening
Learners who need public-domain English novels for reading practice or textual analysis
Readers who enjoy cool narrative and psychological character portrayal and do not seek strong plot

Not a good fit for

Readers who want Maugham's most mature representative works and recognize only famous titles
Readers who prefer fast-paced, strongly plotted, or genre narratives
Beginning readers who need modern annotations, introductions, and detailed background materials

Reading tips

Read the first few chapters first to confirm the narrative pace, then proceed chapter by chapter, paying attention to the turning points in the heroine's attitudes.
While reading, note how her judgments about marriage and self differ before and after, forming a thread of the character's psychology.
After finishing, compare with Maugham's other works to see differences in irony and characterization between his early and later periods.
If used for English learning, choose dialogue-heavy chapters for close reading, to appreciate the narrative tone and characters' voices.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book suitable for readers reading Maugham for the first time?

It can serve as one entry point into Maugham's novels, but it is an early work, less well known and less discussed than his later representative works. If you want to first experience Maugham's narrative style, this book's length and language threshold are relatively manageable; if you want to read his most acclaimed works, you can also read other famous titles first and then come back for comparison.

What themes does the novel mainly revolve around?

Judging from the materials and public-domain common knowledge, the novel revolves around a marriage relationship, focusing on the gap between the heroine's expectations of marriage and reality, and the psychological changes this brings about in the character. It is closer to a social novel of character and marriage than to a story driven by external adventure or suspenseful plot.

Does this edition have annotations or an introduction?

This is a public-domain electronic text released by Project Gutenberg; the materials do not indicate that it includes modern editorial annotations, an introduction, or detailed background notes. Readers who need scholarly supporting materials should look separately for relevant studies or annotated editions.

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About the author

Maugham, W. Somerset (William Somerset), 1874-1965 Author

W. Somerset Maugham (1874–1965) was a British novelist and playwright. Twenty-four of his works are held in this collection, covering novels, short-story collections and plays, with representative titles including Of Human Bondage, The Moon and Sixpence, The Trembling of a Leaf, The Circle, Liza of Lambeth and On a Chinese Screen. His writing ranges widely in subject, often depicting human weakness, emotional entanglement and exotic settings in a cool, restrained tone; his narratives are clear and his characters sharply drawn, combining readability with irony. His works circulated widely in twentieth-century English literature and have influenced both popular and serious fiction. As public information is limited, his detailed life and career are not elaborated here.