Thomas Votteler

The Short Story Criticism series is a major reference work that now comprises about 150 volumes, each of which considers the work of 4 to 9 authors. Entries offer a biographical essay on the author, a bibliography, and a broad selection of critical essays taken from scholarly journals, books, newspapers, and magazines. The selections provide a good overview of contemporary literary criticism of an author’s work.

Volume 8, published in 1991, considers the short stories of nine authors: W. Somerset Maugham (the chief subject of this book review), Raymond Carver, Kate Chopin, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Bret Harte, Henry James, Grace Paley, and Kurt Vonnegut. This is one of several encyclopedic volumes from this publisher that include Somerset Maugham. His short stories also are explored in Volume 94 (2007) of the SSC series. In addition, his entire literary output is explored in >200 pages of volume 208 of Twentieth Century Literary Criticism (published in 2009 and available online through libraries or via subscription). Also, at least five volumes of the Contemporary Literary Criticism series deal with his life and work.

The two page biographical essay on Maugham in this volume is adequate, despite is brevity. The bibliography is very sketchy, giving names and dates of his principal novels and short story collections, but no other publisher information. Essays of literary criticism include works from such scholars as Anthony Curtis and John Whitehead (authors of prominent works on Maugham), plus such lesser figures as Archie Loss and various older writers. Also included is a substantial contribution from Maugham himself, an excerpt from the preface to his short story collection East and West. Overall, these sources represent an overview of published literary criticism of the author over a period of 60 years, for whatever use such works may be.

The following sources are included:

Lee Wilson Dodd (1931) – review of Six Stories Written in the First Person in
Saturday Review of Literature;
Louis Kronenberger (1934) – review of East and West in the New York Times Book Review;
Raymond Mortimer (1934) – except of the essay “Rereading Mr. Maugham” published in The New Statesman and Nation;
W. Somerset Maugham (1934) – excerpt from the preface to the collection East and West;
H.E. Bates (1941) – excerpt from his book The Modern Short Story: A Critical Survey;
John Pollock (1966) – excerpt from his essay “Somerset Maugham and His Work” in The Quarterly Review;
Anthony Curtis (1982) from his book Somerset Maugham;
Joseph Epstein (1985) – excerpt from “Is It Alright to Read Somerset Maugham,” published in New Criterion;
John Whitehead (1987) – an extended excerpt from his book Maugham: A Reappraisal; and
Archie K. Loss (1987) – an excerpt from his book W. Somerset Maugham… (más)