William Somerset Maugham, página 4 de 11

In questo romanzo W. Somerset Maugham mette in scena, come sempre o quasi, se stesso, ma stavolta nella doppia veste di Strickland, un agente di cambio che per amore della pittura lascia il solido mondo della City per quello assai meno rassicurante di Parigi prima e di Tahiti poi, distruggendo lungo il cammino la vita di due donne, e del suo involontario biografo, un giovane deciso a indagare sugli oscuri, brutali, inaccettabili moventi di ogni vero artista. Celebre per decenni soprattutto come evocazione di Paul Gauguin, questo romanzo oggi ci appare finalmente per quello che e: un'inchiesta conturbante sull'attrazione fisica e totale per il bello, enigma "che in comune con l'universo ha il merito di essere senza risposta".

Enchanted by the landscape and people of Spain, Maugham had long resolved to wirte a picaresque novel about the country. Instead, he wrote a living commentary assessing a great people in their greatest hour. 'Don Fernando' ia s paean to Sapin's golden age of enormous creative enegy. Beginning wth the vivid tale of Loyola's life and conversion, it discusses the writings of St. Theresa and the paintings of El Greco, and comments with sagacity and wit on such illustrious figures as Cervantes, Luis de Leon, Lope de Vega, Velasquez and the creator of Don Juan. 'Don Fernando' is full of happy surprises, curious facts and stimulating opinions that reflect Maugham's lifelong love and admiration for spanish culture and civilisation.

SOMERSET MAUGHAM – LLUVIA Y OTROS CUENTOSLa dilatada carrera literaria de William Somerset Maugham estuvo colmada de triunfos, en las primeras décadas del siglo XX como autor teatral en Londres, dond

Des del balcó de l’espectacular vil·la florentina on passa les vacances, Mary Panton fa balanç de la seva situació: essent una vídua encara jove i bonica, són moltes les ofertes de matrimoni que, sen

Somerset Maugham is one of the world''s great story tellers. You turn the pages and enter a magical world of fabulous characters. You feel as if you are curled up listening to the delicious, risqué, tales of an old, dear and rather wicked friend. You are transported to the very place, the villa, the street, the bar, the smells and tastes are almost tangible. The ten stories in this collection are ''The Letter'', ''The Verger'', ''The Vessel of Wrath'', ''The Book-Bag'', ''The Facts of Life'', ''Lord Mountdrago'', ''The Colonel''s Lady'', ''The Treasure'', ''Rain'' and ''P&O''.With an Afterword by Ned Halley.

One of Maugham's rare experiments with form, the novel is a trio of stories that portrays a vivid spectrum of life in Edwardian London; from the backstreets to the suburbs and high society. The stories brilliantly depict the pressure of convention and complex webs of interaction in which his characters struggle to assert themselves. The stories are linked by one of his endearing characters, Miss Ley. Through the eyes of this delightfully witty and independent spinster, you are treated to a compelling vision of the interplay between love and reason. We live through the daughter of a dean's brief but happy marriage to a dying poet; a woman's adulterous passion for a young rascal which only serves to make her a more sympathetic wife, and finally, an honourable man's decision to take virtue to extremes.

Poc abans d'arribar a la majoria d'edat, Bertha Ley anuncia al seu tutor que pensa casar-se amb Edward Craddock, l'atractiu i corpulent llogater de la granja de Bewlie, una de les propietats que el seu pare li va deixar en morir. Se n'ha enamorat apassionadament i, malgrat l'oposicio dels qui l'envolten, decideix llançar-se als seus braços per fugir de la monotonia de la vida rural que comparteix amb la seva tia soltera. Pero, a mesura que la jove parella avança pel cami del matrimoni, l'amor de la noia topa amb el profund ensopiment del caracter del seu marit: l'Edward es incapaç de fer-la feliç, i el casament s'acaba convertint en una preso. Marit i muller no saben res l'un de l'altre. Per ardent que sigui el seu amor, per intima que sigui la seva unio, mai no esdevenen una mateixa cosa. En aquesta poderosa novel·la, Somerset Maugham tracta aquest gran tema de la literatura universal amb l'escepticisme ironic que el caracteritza. Tanmateix, a diferencia de Madame Bovary, les decisions que pren Bertha Ley, sempre analitzades per la mirada acida de la seva tia, la porten a un desenllaç totalment inesperat.

An Intermediate Level title in a series of ELT readers comprising a wide range of stories and divided into five levels: Starter Level, with about 300 basic words; Beginner (600); Elementary (1100); Intermediate (1600); and Upper (2200). Some of the titles are also available on cassette.

This classic collection of stories moves from England, France and Spain to the silver sands of the South Pacific. It includes the famous story 'Rain', the tragedy of a narrow-minded and overzealous missionary and a prostitute, and 'The Three Fat Women of Antibes,' an extravagantly sardonic tale of abstention and greed, as well as a host of other brilliant tales.

"Far Eastern Tales" is a collection of short stories born of Maugham's experiences in Malaya, Singapore and other outposts of the former British Empire. Whether portraying a ship-borne flight from a lover's curse, murder in the jungle, or a marriage shattered by a past indiscretion, they all reveal Maugham at his best - sometimes caustic, sometimes gently comic, but always the shrewd and human judge of character and soul.

From 1892, when he was eighteen, until 1949, when this book was first published, Somerset Maugham kept a notebook. It is without doubt one of his most important works. Part autobiographical, part confessional, packed with observations, confidences, experiments and jottings it is a rich and exhilarating admission into this great writer's workshop.

Set in the bohemian cafe society of Paris at the turn of the nineteenth century, Maugham's exploration of hypnotism and the occult was inspired by the sinister black magician Aleister Crowley. At the start of this compulsive gothic horror story, Arthur and his beautiful, innocent fiancee Margaret look forward to an idyllic life together, until they encounter the mesmerising and repulsive Oliver Haddo...

Julia Lambert is in her prime, the greatest actress in England. On stage she is a true professional, in full possession of her emotions. Off stage, however, she is bored with her husband, less disciplined about her behaviour. She is at first amused by the attentions of a shy but ambitious young fan, then thrilled by his persistence - and at last wildly but dangerously in love Although Maugham is most celebrated as a novelist and short-story writer, it was as a playwright that he first knew success. Theatre is both a tribute to a world from which he had retired and a persuasive testimony to his enthusiasm for drama and the stage.

Eclectic and illuminating, these essays are the last that Maugham published. Ranging from an appreciation of Goethe's novels, to an encounter with an Indian holy man, with a considered analysis of the form at which Maugham himself excelled - the short story - they present the enduring views and opinions of this eminent writer.

Crippled sixteen-year-old Catalina is the one person unable to join in the festivities of the Feast of the Assumption. But then she has a vision of the Virgin, and is miraculously cured. In the dark days of the Spanish Inquisition, such a claim to blessedness has serious consequences, especially when Catalina seems more inclined to obey her heart than the demands of the Church. The last of Maugham's novels, Catalina is a romantic celebration of Spain and a delightfully mischievous satire on absolutism.

Guidata da pochi principi, quasi tutti appresi alla scuola di recitazione, Julia Lambert ("la piu grande attrice d''Inghilterra") sa decisamente irretire il suo pubblico. Ma Julia sembra sempre sul punto di cadere: in un matrimonio mediocre, in un amore con un ragazzo che ha vent''anni meno di lei, nei trabocchetti tesi dai debuttanti che vorrebbero rubarle la scena. E ogni volta il lettore, spettatore dal loggione, vorrebbe metterla in guardia. Ma Julia riesce a scegliere benissimo da se il tono, il gesto, l''inquadratura.

In questo romanzo W. Somerset Maugham mette in scena, come sempre o quasi, se stesso, ma stavolta nella doppia veste di Strickland, un agente di cambio che per amore della pittura lascia il solido mondo della City per quello assai meno rassicurante di Parigi prima e di Tahiti poi, distruggendo lungo il cammino la vita di due donne, e del suo involontario biografo, un giovane deciso a indagare sugli oscuri, brutali, inaccettabili moventi di ogni vero artista. Celebre per decenni soprattutto come evocazione di Paul Gauguin, questo romanzo oggi ci appare finalmente per quello che e: un''inchiesta conturbante sull''attrazione fisica e totale per il bello, enigma "che in comune con l''universo ha il merito di essere senza risposta".