Includes new facsimile dust jacket in archival brodart sleeve. Cakes and ale vintage international kindle edition by maugham, w. Somerset maugham, neil hunt for free with a 30 day free trial. Listen to unlimited audiobooks on the web, ipad, iphone and android. Casting about one evening in the villa mauresque for a good book to take to bed, he sighed. Maugham confessed to a friend that his cruel portrait of walpole had origins in walpoles behaviour towards maughams friend, the society painter sir gerald kelly the lionel hillier of cakes and ale when, after sitting for several portraits, walpole not only dropped kelly but asked him to approach augustus john to paint his. Review of cakes and ale by somerset maugham a writers. Ebook cakes and ale as pdf download portable document format. Maugham was aware that he never wrote anything more alive and, for that reason, more likely to endure.
It is the novel for which maugham wished to be remembered. Pocket books, 1951 under the title cakes and ale and other favorites. Social climber alroy kear is flattered when he is selected by edward driffields wife to pen the official biography of her lionized novelist husband, and determined to. Social climber alroy kear is flattered when he is selected by edward driffields. Cakes and ale is a delicious satire of london literary society between the.
Of all somerset maughams novels this is the most entertaining and arguably his best ever. Cakes and ale is both a wickedly satirical novel about contemporary heroines of twentiethcentury literature, maughams sardonic wit and william somerset maugham was born in and lived in paris until he was ten. Somerset maugham download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi. A novelist, ashenden is befriended by the ambitious, selfserving alroy kear, who has been commissioned to. Cakes and ale vintage international kindle edition by maugham. It also marks the transformation of british writer w. The lively, loving heroine once gave driffield enough material to last a lifetime, but now her memory casts an embarrissing shadow over his career and respectable image. When cakes and ale was first published in 1930 it roused a storm of controversy, since many people imagined they recognised portraits of literary figures now no more.
Maugham exposes the misguided social snobbery levelled at the character rosie driffield, whose frankness, honesty, and sexual freedom make her a target of conservative propriety. Social climber alroy kear is flattered when he is selected by edward driffields wife to pen the official biography of her lionized novelist husband, and determined to write a bestseller. Cakes and ale is a delicious satire of london literary society between the wars. Her character is treated favourably by the books narrator, ashenden, who understands that she was a muse to. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading cakes and ale vintage international. For literary reasons it starts with a vicious portrait of. Cakes and ale by w maugham overdrive rakuten overdrive. One of the twentieth centurys most popular novelists as well as a celebrated playwright, critic, and shortstory writer, he also served as a secret agent for the british during world war i.
Free downloadable version in various formats including kindle, epub, pdf and others. Lord george, the local coal merchant, adds to the merriment and is to play. Publication date 1930 topics cdac collection digitallibraryindia. Maugham 18941965 was safely settled in the south of france when the storm broke over this book.
Cakes and ale is a piercing satire of british literary circles, and features apparently very recognisable portraits of authors thomas hardy, and maughams erstwhile friend horace walpole. Cakes and ale is a satire of london literary society between the wars. Both maughams parents died before he was 10, and the orphaned boy was raised by a paternal uncle who was emotionally cold. Cakes and ale, or, the skeleton in the cupboard 1930 is a novel by the british author w. Wise, witty, deeply satisfying, cakes and ale is maugham at his best. If you scroll up a bit and click the third button under other maugham eresources that says nonfiction with my logo on it, you will go to the ebook page of nonfiction, including travel books and essays. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Contentment and a zest for life wafts off the pages like expensive french pefume. As we learn from selina hastings in her excellent biography, the secret lives of somerset maugham, cakes and ale was written in 1930 in maughams sumptuous home, the villa mauresque on cap ferrat, at the time in his life when he was happiest and most content. The story is told by willie ashenden, a character who previously appeared in maughams shortstory collection ashenden. Somerset maugham audiobooks download instantly today.
This was published to commemorate the 80th birthday of maugham. The story is told by willie ashenden, a character who previously appeared in maugham s shortstory collection ashenden. But then kear discovers the great novelists voluptuous muse and unlikely first wife, rosie. Whether youve loved the book or not, if you give your honest and detailed thoughts then people will find new books that are right for them. Somerset maugham and artist graham sutherland, signed on the limitation page. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. Buy cakes and ale book online at best prices in india on. Somerset maugham somerset maugham by anthony curtis the secret lives of somerset maugham by selina hastings maugham. Maughams portrait of her makes his novel fairly glow with witty observations of the contemporary literary scene. Cakes and ale is probably the most cheerful of maughams works, considering that it comprises chiefly of the narrators recollections of a carefree summer vacation due to a strange friendship with a middleaged writer, driffield, and his sensuous, friendly wife, rosie. He was among the most popular writers of his era and reputedly the highestpaid author during the 1930s. Other readers will always be interested in your opinion of the books youve read. Click download or read online button to get somerset maugham book now. Somerset maugham tells the story of author william ashendens series of contracts over decades with a greatly renowned novelist, and the need of his wouldbe biographer for details that william alone can provide.
Buy cakes and ale book online at low prices in india. The story is told by willie ashenden, a character who previously appeared in. Cakes and ale project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. Cakes and ale or the skeleton in the cupboard by maugham. Maugham exposes the misguided social snobbery levelled at the character. Cakes and ale vintage international kindle edition by. Maugham was not known as a bombthrower, but cakes and ale in 1930 changed that. Somerset maughams cakes and ale is not the powerhouse novel that was of human bondage or the magician or the razors edge and i feel quite sure that quite a few readers might agree with me and, to a large extent, it is not but it has a character, rosie driffield, who is so unique, so seductive, enchanting, and mysterious that she carries this book to the. Per doubledays practice of designating first editions, first edition so stated on title page verso. Based on the life of postimpressionist artist paul gauguin, the moon and sixpence builds on a long tradition of european writing about the south pacific as an exotic locale. William somerset maugham 18741965 was born in paris, the son of a british embassy official, and grew up in england. Rosie is a barmaid with a heart of gold and a skeleton in her closet. He studied medicine and officially qualified as a doctor before turning to writing.
1470 2 941 245 1287 1445 644 366 771 509 487 157 1601 703 130 1390 1123 9 1094 1391 246 759 1012 423 185 1429 1140 690 1001 851 334 104 929 986 147 1413 507 541