William
Somerset
Maugham
(1874
–
1965)
Born
in
Paris,
France.
He
studied
at
Canterbury
and
Heidelberg,
qualified
as a
surgeon
at St
Thomas's
Hospital,
London.
He
wrote
Liza
of
Lambeth
(1897),
Of
Human
Bondage
(1915),
The
Moon
and
Sixpence
(1919),
The
Circle
(1921),
The
Trembling
of a
Leaf
(1921),
East
of
Suez
(1922),
Cakes
and
Ale
(1930),
The
Complete
Short
Stories
(3
vols)
in
1951.
I confess that when first I made acquaintance with Charles Strickland I never for a moment discerned that there was in him anything out of the ordinary. Yet now few will be found to deny his greatness. I do not speak of that greatness which is achieved by the fortunate politician or the successful soldier; that is a quality which belongs to the place he occupies rather than to the man; and a change of circumstances reduces it to very discreet proportions. The Prime Minister out of office is seen, too often, to have been but a pompous rhetorician, and the General without an army is but the tame hero of a market town.
