The Summing Up

THE SUMMING UP is rare among literary autobiographies for its scope and honesty. While Maugham analyzes his work in drama and fiction, this is far more than a list of publishing triumphs. He sorts 40 years of experience and gives us the distillation of his ethic and philosophy.

Like many other successful authors Maugham started as a physician, but writing called him early. At 23, based on his experiences in a slum hospital, he wrote LIZA OF LAMBETH, an immediate success, and thereafter left ...