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The Skeptical Romancer by W. Somerset Maugham
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The Skeptical Romancer

Selected Travel Writing

Selected Travel Writing; Edited and Introduced by Pico Iyer

Selected Travel Writing

By W. Somerset Maugham
Edited by Pico Iyer

By W. Somerset Maugham
Edited by Pico Iyer

By W. Somerset Maugham
Introduction by Pico Iyer
Edited by Pico Iyer

By W. Somerset Maugham
Introduction by Pico Iyer
Edited by Pico Iyer

By W. Somerset Maugham

By W. Somerset Maugham

Best Seller

Part of Vintage International

Part of Everyman's Library Contemporary Classics Series

Part of Vintage International

Paperback $16.00

Feb 14, 2012 | ISBN 9780307473189

Hardcover $24.00

Nov 03, 2009 | ISBN 9780307272126

Ebook $6.99

Feb 14, 2012 | ISBN 9780307947635

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    The Skeptical Romancer by W. Somerset Maugham
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    Feb 14, 2012 | ISBN 9780307473189

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      Feb 14, 2012 | ISBN 9780307473189

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    • Hardcover $24.00

      Nov 03, 2009 | ISBN 9780307272126

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      Feb 14, 2012 | ISBN 9780307947635

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    About The Skeptical Romancer

    One of the seminal writers of the twentieth century, W. Somerset Maugham was also a fearless and constant traveler who chronicled his adventures with a rare mix of wit and excitement. In The Skeptical Romancer, acclaimed travel writer Pico Iyer selects vignettes of Maugham’s wise and vivid prose that track his transformation from a boyish traveler in Spain to a worldly man of letters, looking back on India, China, Russia, and America. Beginning with an early book on Spain and culminating in excerpts from old age, this collection introduces us to Maugham at his most surprising, charming, and prophetic. In piece after piece, one can see the spirit that continues to cast an unrivaled influence over successors from Graham Greene to Paul Theroux, from Jan Morris to V. S. Naipaul.

    About The Skeptical Romancer

    W. Somerset Maugham was one of the seminal writers of the twentieth century, and his travel writing has long been considered among his finest work. Now, acclaimed travel writer Pico Iyer maps out a masterful tour of these vivid, evocative pieces that are collected here for the first time.

    Maugham worked as a secret agent in Russia, published novels in London, staged plays in New York, and traveled throughout Europe, Asia, India, and the United States, chronicling his travels, wherever he went, with exceptional insight. Beginning with “In the Land of the Blessed Virgin” and culminating in “A Partial View,” Iyer selects vignettes of Maugham’s razor-sharp prose that track his transformation from a boyish traveler in Spain to a worldly man of letters.

    This is Maugham at his most keenly observant, direct, and powerful.

    About The Skeptical Romancer

    W. Somerset Maugham was one of the seminal writers of the twentieth century, and his travel writing has long been considered among his finest work. Now, acclaimed travel writer Pico Iyer maps out a masterful tour of these vivid, evocative pieces that are collected here for the first time.

    Maugham worked as a secret agent in Russia, published novels in London, staged plays in New York, and traveled throughout Europe, Asia, India, and the United States, chronicling his travels, wherever he went, with exceptional insight. Beginning with “In the Land of the Blessed Virgin” and culminating in “A Partial View,” Iyer selects vignettes of Maugham’s razor-sharp prose that track his transformation from a boyish traveler in Spain to a worldly man of letters.

    This is Maugham at his most keenly observant, direct, and powerful.

    Read An Excerpt

    Read An Excerpt

    Read An Excerpt

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    About W. Somerset Maugham

    W. Somerset Maugham was born in Paris in 1874. He trained as a doctor in London, where he started writing his first novels. In 1926 he bought a house in Cap Ferrat, France, which was to become a meeting place… More about W. Somerset Maugham

    About W. Somerset Maugham

    W. Somerset Maugham was born in Paris in 1874. He trained as a doctor in London, where he started writing his first novels. In 1926 he bought a house in Cap Ferrat, France, which was to become a meeting place… More about W. Somerset Maugham

    About W. Somerset Maugham

    W. Somerset Maugham was born in Paris in 1874. He trained as a doctor in London, where he started writing his first novels. In 1926 he bought a house in Cap Ferrat, France, which was to become a meeting place… More about W. Somerset Maugham

    Product Details

    Category: Travel Writing | Biography & Memoir | Literary Collections

    Paperback | $16.00
    Published by Vintage
    Feb 14, 2012 | 224 Pages | 5-3/16 x 8 | ISBN 9780307473189

    Category: Travel Writing | Nonfiction Classics | Biography & Memoir | Literary Collections

    Hardcover | $24.00
    Published by Everyman’s Library
    Nov 03, 2009 | 248 Pages | 4-7/8 x 8-1/8 | ISBN 9780307272126

    Category: Travel Writing | Biography & Memoir | Literary Collections

    Ebook | $6.99
    Published by Vintage
    Feb 14, 2012 | 272 Pages | ISBN 9780307947635
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    Praise

    “Maugham is a great artist. . . . A genius.” —Theodore Dreiser
     
    “An expert craftsman. . . . His style is sharp, quick, subdued, casual.” —The New York Times
     
    “Maugham has given infinite pleasure and left us a splendour of writing which will remain for as long as the written English word is permitted to exist.” —The Daily Telegraph
     
    “The modern writer who has influenced me most is Somerset Maugham.” —George Orwell
     
    “Maugham remains the consummate craftsman. . . . [His prose is] so compact, so economical, so closely motivated, so skillfully written, that it rivets attention from the first page to last.” —The Saturday Review of Literature
     
    “It is very difficult for a writer of my generation, if he is honest, to pretend indifference to the work of Somerset Maugham. . . . He was always so entirely there.” —Gore Vidal

    Table Of Contents

    Introduction by Pico Iyer
    Select Bibliography
    Chronology

    A Very Young Traveller in Spain (from The Land of the Blessed Virgin)
    The Spirit of Andalusia        
    The Churches of Ronda        
    The Mosque at Cordova        
    The Court of Oranges         
    Seville              
    The Giralda            
    Gaol              
    Corrida de Toros          
    Wind and Storm          
    Jerez              
    Cadiz              
    Adios              

    Sketches of China (from On a Chinese Screen)
    My Lady’s Parlour          
    The Cabinet Minister         
    Dinner Parties: Legation Quarter      
    The Inn             
    Her Britannic Majesty’s Representative    
    The Last Chance          
    Henderson            
    Romance            
    The Song of the River         
    The Stranger            
    The Philosopher          
    The Missionary Lady          
    The Plain            
    A Student of the Drama        
    A City Built on a Rock         

    Across Southeast Asia (from The Gentleman in the Parlour)
    Pagan              
    Mandalay            
    The Nuns at Mengon         
    On the Trail            
    The Salween            
    The Market            
    Keng Tung            
    The Solitary            
    Siam              
    Bangkok             
    Buddha             
    The Fever            
    Angkor             
    A Last Day in Angkor         
    Saigon and Tourane          
    Hue¨              
    A Night on the River          
    A Classmate in Haiphong        

    A Life in Retrospect (from The Partial View, comprising The Summing Up and A Writer’s Notebook)
    Early Travels            
    Mobility             
    Capri              
    At War             
    Hawaii              
    The Missionary and Miss Thompson     
    A Castaway            
    Tahiti              
    Russia              
    The Nevsky Prospekt          
    Opium Dream           
    The Sultan            
    A Dream            
    India              
    Benares             
    The Taj             
    Madura             
    In Texas

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