William Somserset Maugham

English novelist and playwright William Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) has been referred to as “cynical, cold, uncharitable,” and once said “‘I’ve always been interested in people, but I don’t like them.’” Maugham admitted to adapting his observations of people to his stories, but perhaps did so more in protection of himself; Maugham could not bear to read his Of Human Bondage because of the similarities between he and the story’s main character.

Maugham wrote novels such as The Hero, Cakes and Ale, and The Razor’s Edge, short stories such as Orientations,  Ah King, and The Unconquered, and plays such as Marriages Are Made in Heaven, Caesar's Wife: A Comedy in Three Acts, and The Camel's Back.

Maugham originally studied medicine. During World War I, Maugham was a medical officer and worked with an ambulance unit. During World War II, he worked with the British Ministry of Information.

Contemporary Authors Online, Gale, 2004. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: The Gale Group. 2004.