ISBN: 9780099289609    Publisher: Random House Year of publishing: 2000     Format:  Paperback No of Pages: 320        Language: English

From the love affair between a missionary and a drunkard to the mystery surrounding a death at sea, this collection gives a warm and humourous insight into life and history of life in the colonies and stands as a superbly entertaining and compelling testament to Maugham's skill and power as a short story writer.
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William Somerset Maugham was born in 1874 and lived in Paris until he was ten. He was educated at King's School, Canterbury, and at Heidelberg University. He spent some time at St. Thomas' Hospital with the idea of practising medicine, but the success of his first novel, 'Liza of Lambeth,' published in 1897, won him over to literature. 'Of Human Bondage,' the first of his masterpieces, came out in 1915, and with the publication in 1919 of 'The Moon and Sixpence' his reputation as a novelist was established. At the same time his fame as a successful playwright and writer was being consolidated with acclaimed productions of various plays and the publication of several short story collections. His other works include travel books, essays, criticism and the autobiographical 'The Summing Up' and 'A Writer's Notebook'. In 1927 Somerset Maugham settled in the South of France and lived there until his death in 1965
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