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The Summing Up Limited Edition (1954) – W. Somerset Maugham
The Summing Up (1954) Limited Edition - SlipcaseThe Summing Up (New York: Doubleday & Co., 1954)
In this post I am going to talk about a beautiful book, both in content and as an object, a little present that I got for myself, a very special present indeed. In a moment, I will tell you why.
In a previous post I mentioned another limited edition printed for the celebration of Maugham's eightieth birthday: Cakes and Ale, published by Heinemann, with a special preface and four pages of re…
W. Somerset Maugham in Lilliput - March 1938
Lilliput, Mar. 1938W. Somerset Maugham
Lilliput. The Pocket Magazine for Everyone 2.3 (Mar. 1938).
A few days ago, when I received a tiny padded A5 envelope I was not certain what it contained. I had been ordering some books and magazines; a few came in huge boxes stuffed with newspapers or foam peanuts, but I was not expecting anything so small.
A magazine it was. I was a bit surprised by its size, in contrast with its contemporaries that I usually get. I looked eagerly for the Maugham refere…
Analysis: "To lead you to an overwhelming question ...": Points of View (1958) by W. Somerset Maugham
Points of View (1958) - W. Somerset MaughamPoints of View (London: Heinemann, 1958)
Points of View is a collection of essays by W. Somerset Maugham, first printed in 1958, the penultimate work in book form that the author published.
It consists of five essays: "The Three Novels of a Poet," "The Saint," "Prose and Dr. Tillotson," "The Short Story," and "Three Journalists." From what Stott registers, it seems that only "The Saint" was pu…
"The Sorrows of Autobiography. Somerset Maugham's The Summing Up" by Roger J. Porter
Porter, Roger J. "The Sorrows of Autobiography. Somerset Maugham's The Summing Up." Self-same Songs: Autobiographical Performances and Reflections . Lincoln: U of Nebraska P, 2002. 67-80.In this post, I will look at the chapter on Maugham's The Summing Up in this book on autobiographic writings. I dived straightly into the chapter I was interested in without knowing much about the book itself, taking it as a regular academic criticism. The result, I am sorry to say, is dista…
The Summing Up - W. Somerset Maugham
The Summing Up (London: Heinemann, 1938)This post is about W. Somerset Maugham's memoirs The Summing Up. I will record some of my reflections and describe the first edition that I possess.
The Summing Up of An Extraordinary Mind
The first time I read The Summing Up was some years ago. Upon closing the book this time, I experience very different feelings. Maugham has reiterated on different occasions that the most important aspect, or in fact, the sole significance, of an artwork (includin…