The Mixture As Before - W. Somerset Maugham

The Mixture As Before (New York: Doubleday, 1940)

As Maugham explains in the preface, he humorously turns a phrase which is used as an attack on his last collection of short stories to title this collection. This collection consists of several stories that will be recollected in Quartet and Encore and made into films. Two of the stories, "The Three Women of Antibes" and "Gigolo and Gigolette" were recorded by Maugham as an audio book.

The short stories are the followings:

• The Three Fat Women of Antibes
• A Man with a Conscience
• The Treasure
• The Lotus Eater
• The Lion's Skin
• Lord Mountdrago
• Gigolo and Gigolette
• The Voice of the Turtle
• An Official Position
• The Facts of Life

Besides several stories with light humour such as "The Three Fat Women," "The Facts of Life" and "The Treasure," others including "The Lotus Eater," "The Lion's Skin," "Gigolo and Gigolette" and "An Official Position" evoke strong sentiments from the reader; the portrayal of human cruelty and turns of events leave unparalleled impressions. "Lord Mountdrago" touches on the supernatural, which reminds one of the unusual novel The Magician that Maugham wrote in his youth. The Mixture As Before is certainly an excellent collection.

The copy that I have is the first stated US edition with dust jacket, it has gilt decoration on spine; black cloth and red top stain. Other editions are available here: Search Amazon.com for maugham the mixture as before