The collected edition of the works of W. Somerset Maugham Series

Cakes and Ale roused a storm of controversy when it was first published in 1930. It is both a wickedly satirical novel about contemporary literary poseurs and a skillfully crafted study of freedom. It is also the book for which Maugham wanted most to be remembered. From the Trade Paperback edition.

The Moon and Sixpence

by W Somerset Maugham

Published 1 January 1970

Inspired by the life of noted French painter Paul Gauguin, The Moon and Sixpence is the story of a rebellious stockbroker. Driven by passion, he decides to abandon civilization and convention in order to pursue his destiny as a painter in the South Pacific. In Charles Strickland, the main character, Maugham gives the reader a penetrating and fascinating study in personality with a savage truthfulness and an icy contempt for heroics and sentimentality.

Of Human Bondage

by W Somerset Maugham

Published December 1952

The hero is Philip Carey, a sensitive and talented orphan with a clubfoot who is raised by an uncaring aunt and uncle. It is the story of Philip's struggle for independence and his pursuit of his art. Often autobiographical, Of Human Bondage is considered to be Maugham's finest work.

Liza of Lambeth

by W Somerset Maugham

Published 12 May 1978

W. Somerset Maugham’s first novel is about the gloomy, poverty-stricken world of South London in the 1890s and how it affects one young girl who tries to escape from it.

The Painted Veil

by W Somerset Maugham

Published April 1974

Kitty Fane is the beautiful but shallow wife of Walter, a bacteriologist stationed in Hong Kong. Unsatisfied by her marriage, she starts an affair with charming, attractive and exciting Charles Townsend. But when Walter discovers her deception, he exacts a strange and terrible vengeance: Kitty must accompany him to his new posting in remote mainland China, where a cholera epidemic rages...

First published to a storm of protest, The Painted Veil is a classic story of a woman's spiritual awakening.