Liza of Lambeth (W. Somerset Maugham Works) [Hardcover]

W. Somerset Maugham (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1977 | Series: W. Somerset Maugham Works

Liza of Lambeth (1897) was W. Somerset Maugham's first novel, which he wrote while working as a doctor at a hospital in Lambeth, then a working class district of London. It depicts the short life and tragic death of Liza Kemp, an 18-year-old factory worker who lives together with her aging mother in Vere Street off Westminster Bridge Road in Lambeth. All in all, it gives the reader an interesting insight into the everyday lives of working class Londoners at the turn of the century.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The modern writer who has influenced me the most." - George Orwell

"One of my favourite writers." - Gabriel Garcia Marquez

"A writer of great dedication." - Graham Greene --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From the Publisher

5 1-hour cassettes --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 221 pages
• Publisher: Ayer Co Pub (June 1977)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0405078137
• ISBN-13: 978-0405078132
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,028,546 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Realism in the form of London's lower clases, May 30, 1999

By 

[e-mail] Jim Campbell (Maui, Hawaiian Islands, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Liza of Lambeth (Classic, 20th-Century, Penguin) (Paperback)

This was Maugham's first published work which appeared 102 years ago. Maugham had just graduated from medical school almost the day the book was published and the modest success and good reviews convinced him to dedicate his life to a career of letters. The story takes place in the Lambeth section of London and is baised of his internship and residence at St. Thomas Hospital where he was required to call on the lower classes in the most dangerous section of town. Later in his life he joked about being a Midwife in his youth and delivering over a hundered babies for the poor. Maugham was influenced by "Sister Carrie" and "Mean Streets." and other books in the realistic tradition of the day. It is a rather short book and is written in the Cockney dialect of conversation like Dickens "Hard Times." It is well worth reading and a must for any Maugham fan.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Maugham's debut novel, April 20, 2002

By 

Westley (Stuck in my head) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Liza of Lambeth (Classic, 20th-Century, Penguin) (Paperback)

"Liza of Lambeth," Maugham's literary debut, is a less accomplished and complex novel than later masterpieces such as "The Razor's Edge" and "The Moon and Sixpence." Nevertheless, this novel is well worth the read. It chronicles Liza, a young woman who lives in a lower class London neighborhood. She struggles as she works in a factory and helps her alcoholic mother. Despite the rather grim setting, the characters are suprisingly full of life and humor. Liza is a bit of a social butterfly in the neighborhood and is well-liked until she garners the attention of a married man. This connection grows with tragic consequences. There is little sentimentality in the novel, and Maugham was apparently inspired by his work as a medical student in the London slums. Overall, a quick read and a good character study of a young, head-strong woman in late 19th century London.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful picture of lower-class subarban London, July 31, 2001

By 

Manojendu Choudhury "Manojendu" (Mumbai, Maharashtra, India) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Liza of Lambeth (Classic, 20th-Century, Penguin) (Paperback)

The story plot is nothing extraordinary, nor are the characaters unique, but what sets this short novel apart from the rest is the vivid picture that Maugham creates of the lower section of the London society. The story flows freely with a lucid style of writing, arresting the reader's attention from the first pages to the last, and touches a chord in the reader's heart somewhere deep, all along the way. Definitely a work of class, more so, it was Maugham's first novel. The old adage 'morning shows the day' aptly describes what the writer achieves in this work and the masterpieces that follow (Of Human Bondage, The Moon and the Sixpence, The Razor's Edge, etc.).