The only hardcover edition of short stories by one of the twentieth centurysmost enduringly popular fiction writers.Though W. Somerset Maugham was also famous f... » 

The only hardcover edition of short stories by one of the twentieth centurysmost enduringly popular fiction writers.Though W. Somerset Maugham was also famous for his novels and plays it hasbeen argued that in thethe short story he reached the pinnacle of his artwashis true metier. These expertly told tales with their addictive plot twistsand vividly drawn characters are both galvanizing as literature andwonderfully entertaining. In the adventures of his alter ego Ashenden a writerwho like Maugham himself turned secret agent in World War I as well as instories set in such farflung locales as South Pacific islands and colonialoutposts in Southeast Asia Maugham brings his characters vividly to life andtheir humanity is more convincing for the authors merciless exposure of theirflaws and failures. Whether the chasms of misunderstanding he plumbs are thosebetween colonizers and natives between a missionary and a prostitute orbetween a poetrywriting woman and her uncomprehending husband Maughambrilliantly displays his irony his wit and his genius in the art ofstorytelling. «