Maugham

Would any of Somerset Maugham's books be considered classics? One of my favorites is The Painted Veil.

A classic book is a book accepted as being exemplary or noteworthy by many generations of readers. I believe a book must have the qualities of literary's standard what we called "literature".

Somerset Maugham was a 20th Century's writer, I believe his fiction books will be read by the future readers of the next generation after 87 years, that will be year 2101 ( 22nd Century) onward.

I will consider Somerset Maugham as one of the finest British authors of the 20th Century at par with D H Lawrence , Charles Dickens,Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

If you loved classics, you can read the text of your choice for free. Fantastic!

www.classicreader.com/author/110/about/

Definitely an author I'd like to sample; will choose between Of Human Bondage, The Painted Veil and Cakes and Ale.

I read and appreciated Of Human Bondage years ago. I must admit that I didn't realize that The Painted Veil was a Maugham novel. I saw and liked the movie version, so now I'll need to pick up the book. Thanks for educating me.

"Classic"? My bu--hole. By no rational standard. He was a fine, occasionally even compelling, story-teller, but if we here claim any cultural perspective longer than that of a bandicoot, we have to leave-off Maugham.
Still, there's nothing intrinsically wrong with writing entertainment fiction, and he deserves credit for giving honest pleasure to millions of people.
Separately from this thread, I've been running a discussion on this very matter of enduring excellence, and one of the questions I've posed is how various writers of the past might view their subsequent reputation. I think Maugham would be amused, maybe even convulsed, to think that people considered him a classic. His own generation would -- quite rightly, I believe -- have reserved that designation for the likes of Dickens and Donne, Melville and Montaigne, Gogol and Goethe.
Maugham?! I shall retire to Bedlam!

What's the thread you mention? Be curious to follow it.

In re #6. This is not an LT caper. It's an E-mail forum among some of my friends. If you'd like to sucked into our madness, send me your E-handle as a Personal Message. As a preview, it's been provoked by my reading of Gogol's Dead souls, and -- believe it or not -- the NFL Draft. General topic: "the superfluous man". Talk to ya soon -- maybe. Peace either way, -- Goddard ("Harry")

You're welcome. I also enjoyed the movie. If I recall correctly, I believe they followed the book somewhat faithfully.

Good to know. I like when the movie is faithful to the book.

Thank you for the info. esp. the classics link.

To the question posed by the original poster, I'd answer, "Yes." His books have stood the test of time, I think. By the way, there is an entire group dedicated to Maugham: http://www.librarything.com/groups/friendsofmaugham

>7 HarryMacDonald: wrote: "...By no rational standard. He was a fine, occasionally even compelling, story-teller, but if we here claim any cultural perspective longer than that of a bandicoot, we have to leave-off Maugham.
Still, there's nothing intrinsically wrong with writing entertainment fiction, and he deserves credit for giving honest pleasure to millions of people. "

Isn't this just what Dickens did also? I don't see how you can say one is a classic and the other isn't, but luckily we are all free to decide these things for ourselves.

I would say that Of Human Bondage is a classic. I loved Cakes and Ale which is less serious, and would also recommend The Razor's Edge…

Thank you for the friends of Maugham information. I wasn't aware of that.

Razor's Edge is in my top 5 books.

The Razor's Edge is the only Maugham I've read. It was a very interesting study of the lost generation and (don't laugh, now), vaguely reminded me of another favorite, The Sun Also Rises.

I guess Of Human Bondage is next. Yes?

Do you know you can read free online text of Of Human Bondage , if you do not mind to read from a computer's monitor?

Click to the link at Message (2) posted by me.

>16 razzamajazz:, do you trust that site's respect of copyright? I have a Kobo ereader and they make all classics free that are beyond copyright. I don't think I can get any Maugham from them without paying for it.

>17 Cecrow: On their FAQ they do claim "All books published on the Classic Reader website are out-of-copyright, meaning their copyright protection has expired. This means you won't find the latest Stephen King, Tom Clancy, etc. You will find classic literary works from the start of the 20th century and previous centuries, from authors like Charles Dickens, Jules Verne, William Shakespeare and more." Of Human Bondage is from 1915, which is before the 1923 cutoff.

>16 razzamajazz:,17
It is likely due to the difference in copyright legislation between countries. In the UK, Maughan's copyright is in effect until 2035. In the US, it is based on when the books were published. In Canada, his books will enter public domain 2015.

Well in the US it can vary, depending. But any work prior to the 1923 cutoff is public domain.

Of Human Bondage is in the public domain in the US, I am fairly sure. You can get free ebook copies at many sites, for Kindle, Nook, Kobo etc

Click:

www.classicreader.com

for free online text of Of Human Bondage by Somerset Maugham

I definitely see the comparison, and that is probably my favorite Hemingway as well.

The main difference I guess is the lack of redemption/satisfaction in Sun.

I'm half way through reading Razor's Edge. Love it.