The Biography of Maugham

赛琳娜·黑斯廷斯 / 姜昊骞Beijing Daily Press · ChinaJul 2021

Rating 4.2
Word count
478K words
Chapters
21
ISBN
9787547739341

Tags

General Biography Legendary LivesFate and FortuneLiterary GiantsGroup BiographyComplex HumanityDocumentary Narrative

Summary

Drawing on an unprecedented trove of private archives, meticulous research and vigorous prose, Hastings lifts the veil on Maugham in this book, bringing to light the fascinatingly complex truth of his life, relationships and literary creation. It vividly recounts Maugham's early hardships, mid-life success, betrayal in old age, his several secret love affairs, his legendary intelligence work during the two world wars, and, more importantly, how a gifted artist transformed a private life full of contradictions and pain into painstaking creative passion. It was Maugham's rich, many-sided "life writ large" that inspired him to write such masterpieces as Of Human Bondage, Ashenden, Cakes and Ale and The Razor's Edge.

Maugham achieved a success in the theatre and in publishing unmatched by any contemporary; wealth and fame allowed him to range across a vast world and enjoy a dazzling social life. He became close friends with celebrities such as Charlie Chaplin, H. G. Wells, Rebecca West, Eleanor Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, moved amid the glittering cultural circles of the first half of the twentieth century, and helped shape the trends of that era. From London's West End to Broadway, from China and Southern Europe to the South Pacific, the true stories behind many of Maugham's classic short stories and his extraordinarily prolific, breathtakingly long life are told here in gripping prose.

Editor's review

This is a well-researched, powerfully narrated literary biography. Drawing on a wealth of private archives, Hastings recounts Maugham's long life from early hardship through mid-life success to betrayal in old age, while revealing layer by layer the hidden connections between his several secret love affairs, his intelligence work during the two world wars and his literary creation. The book's greatest strength is that it does not deify its subject; instead it shows how a man full of contradictions turned a painful private life into creative passion, giving such masterpieces as Of Human Bondage and The Razor's Edge a traceable source of life. Its accounts of Maugham's dealings with Chaplin, Wells, Churchill and others also sketch the glittering cultural map of the first half of the twentieth century. It suits quiet, immersive reading and works well as a companion volume for rereading Maugham's fiction.

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Reading tips

  1. Read Of Human Bondage or The Razor's Edge first, then compare the relevant chapters of the biography to see how private life became creation
  2. Read the book chronologically, noting the works mentioned as you go, and read the originals afterward
  3. Readers interested in the intelligence work can read Ashenden first, then return to the corresponding parts of the biography
  4. The book is long; set aside one or two chapters a day and take notes on the relationships and historical background

About the publisher

Beijing Daily Press China · Founded in 1981

Beijing Daily Press takes world history, historical reading and foreign literary translations as important publishing directions, alongside science fiction and prose. Its catalogue includes Edward Gibbon's unabridged The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Gu Cheng's Southern Ming History and his works on Ming history, reflecting a balance between general and dynastic history; in literature there are Fu Lei's translations of Balzac and of world classics, as well as science fiction and prose such as The Universe Omnipotent Detective Agency, A Canticle for Leibowitz and The Peregrine, with authors ranging from Gibbon, Gu Cheng and Balzac to Fu Lei, Romain Rolland and Douglas Adams. Building on current affairs, history and culture, Beijing-flavoured culture and children's books, the press combines classic translation with original historical writing, emphasising complete editions and translation quality. Public information is limited, so other details are omitted.

Contents

  1. 版权信息
  2. 第一章 黑马厩镇的童年
  3. 第二章 圣托马斯医院
  4. 第三章 本能作家
  5. 第四章 白猫餐厅
  6. 第五章 英伦剧匠
  7. 第六章 西莉
  8. 第七章 代号“萨默维尔”
  9. 第八章 面纱背后
  10. 第九章 游廊与三角帆船的国度
  11. 第十章 分居
  12. 第十一章 玛莱斯科别墅
  13. 第十二章 哈克主人
  14. 第十三章 讲故事的人
  15. 第十四章 投身宣传
  16. 第十五章 布隆基诺男孩
  17. 第十六章 背叛
  18. 致谢
  19. 注释
  20. 部分参考文献
  21. 插图版权

FAQ

Can I read this biography without having read any of Maugham's works? Yes. The biography follows the full arc of Maugham's life chronologically and does not depend on prior reading of his works. Still, having read such representative works as Of Human Bondage and The Razor's Edge will make the analysis of the links between his writing and private life easier to follow and the experience richer.
Does the book focus mainly on Maugham's private life or on his literary creation? Both equally. Drawing on extensive private archives, the author recounts Maugham's early hardships, secret love affairs, intelligence work and social circle, and also analyzes how these experiences became creative passion, linking them to the genesis of Of Human Bondage, Cakes and Ale, The Razor's Edge and other works.
How do the encounters with celebrities help in understanding Maugham? Maugham's friendships with Chaplin, Wells, Churchill, Eleanor Roosevelt and others allow the book to sketch the cultural landscape of the first half of the twentieth century. These connections reflect his wealth and fame and help readers understand the trends of his time and his place in society.

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About the author

赛琳娜·黑斯廷斯 Author

Selena Hastings is a foreign author about whom relatively limited public information is available; two of her works are currently included in the collection. Her writing centers on biography and foreign literature, with representative works including The Maugham Biography and We Meet Again: Classic Biographies of Great Masters of Art (8 Volumes), part of the Ideal Country series. Judging by her subject matter, she focuses on the lives of writers and artists, and is skilled at tracing the arc of a subject's life and creative background within biographical narrative. Her style tends toward solid presentation of historical material combined with readable storytelling. Because public information is limited, her nationality, dates of birth and death, and full biography cannot be confirmed, yet these two works alone show her sustained engagement with biographical writing. For Chinese readers, her books can serve as an accessible introduction to the relevant masters and literary figures, and as a useful reference for the translation of foreign biographies.

姜昊骞 Author

Jiang Haoqian is an author about whom limited public information is available, and a full account of his life has yet to be disclosed. Judging from the 16 works held in the library, his editorial and translation interests span world history, education, social culture, foreign literature, and documentary writing. Representative works include The Art of War in World History (4 volumes), Russell on Education, Effective Argumentation: The Most Practical Logic Training Course in American Universities, They Say, I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing, and The Study of Argumentation, among others. He has also contributed to multi-volume series such as We Meet Again: Classic Biographies of the Masters of Art (8 volumes) and the Classic Series on Thinking Education. His work appears to focus on introducing and organizing classics and general-knowledge readers, combining logical training, academic writing, and historical narrative, with an emphasis on readability and intellectual substance that offers Chinese readers systematic introductory resources in these fields.