Product Description

Eight stories of the South Seas by a master storyteller.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1432507 in Books
• Published on: 2002-09
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 204 pages

From the Back Cover
After working in British Intelligence during World War I, William Somerset Maugham set off to regain his health by traveling to Asia, Mexico, and the Pacific Islands. During this trip he gather materials and wrote the stories that appeared in 1921 in The Trembling of a Leaf. The six short stories and two "sketches" include the famous story "Rain"-adapted for both theater and film as Sadie Thompson-a story about the ironic consequences of obsession. Its less known companions, however, have their own merits. "Macintosh" is a taut psychological study of two officials on a remote tropic island. "The Fall of Edward Barnard" is a brief bildungsroman about what is important in life-a pre-cursor of Maugham's well known novel, The Razor's Edge. Of course love is always a subject of the tropics and Maugham's deft, ironic handling of the theme in "Red" and "Honolulu" is masterful. But it is "The Pool" that tells a poignant and tragic tale about the pitfalls for love across cultures. "I have never pretended to be anything but a story teller," Maugham once wrote. These short stories are some of his best, and among the best ever written about the exotic South Seas.

About the Author
The stories Maugham spins in The Trembling of a Leaf are some of his best. Born in Paris, the son of a British embassy official, Maugham attended Heidelberg University and then studied medicine at St. Thomas' Hospital in London. Although officially qualifying as a doctor in 1897, the success of his first novel, Liza of Lambeth, promised a life more alluring. By 1904, four of his plays were running simultaneously and his novels were also selling. After working in British Intelligence during World War I, he set off to regain his health by traveling to Asia, Mexico, and the Pacific Islands. During this trip he gather materials and wrote the stories that appeared in 1921 in The Trembling of a Leaf. "Rain," the most famous of the stories in the book, was purportedly inspired by a missionary and prostitute that were among his fellow passengers on a voyage to Pago Pago. The story was first adapted for the stage by John Colton and Clemence Randolph in 1922. Then it became a twice-told tale on film, first as Sadie Thompson in 1928 starring Lionel Barrymore and Gloria Swanson, and was then remade in 1932 with the original title Rain with Joan Crawford in the leading role. In many ways the successful adaptations of "Rain" have devalued the other stories in the collection which are both entertaining and provocative. Fans of Maugham or the South Seas will find much to admire in all of these stories.