A Writer's Notebook [Hardcover]

W. Somerset Maugham (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1949

From 1892, when he was eighteen, until 1949, when this book was first published, Somerset Maugham kept a notebook. It is without doubt one of his most important works. Part autobiographical, part confessional, packed with observations, confidences, experiments and jottings it is a rich and exhilarating admission into this great writer's workshop

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Here- for the student in a writing course, or the young aspirant to writing fame, is the kind of notebook to keep. Maugham has gone back almost fifty years- and from his notebooks, selected a wide range of extracts:- maxims and epigrams, expansion of character, outlines of ideas for stories, incidents that might make stories, anecdotes. There are occasional comments on the passing scenes- on world events- on things and people seen, on success- briefly noted- on coming to America- on war. Now and again, a footnote identifies an item as source of a story later (The Colonel's Lady-Rain- Before the Party are examples). His travel notes in the Pacific were quite evidently very productive over a number of years. A market hard to identify- but chiefly aspiring writers, and those who want a more intimate picture of a writer's preparation. (Kirkus Reviews) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From the Inside Flap

From 1892, when he was eighteen, until 1949 when this book was first published, Somerset Maugham kept a notebook. It is without a doubt one of his most important works. Part autobiographical, part confessional, packed with observations, confidences, experiments and jottings it is a rich and exhilarating admission into this great writer?s workshop. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 367 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday & Company, Inc.; 1st edition (January 1, 1949)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0405078323
• ISBN-13: 978-0405078323
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,988,019 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gems from a Master, May 27, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: A Writer's Notebook (Twentieth Century Classics) (Mass Market Paperback)

This quasi-journal of Maugham's thoughts, travels, philosophies and bits of literature is facinating on several levels. For an avid Maugham fan, you can see the germination of the ideas and the travels that became his novels. The charming, brilliant and matter-of-fact way in which Maugham says startling things about life will have you underlining passages throughout the work.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Book of Wisdon, July 23, 2010

By 

lester - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Writer's Notebook (Vintage International) (Paperback)

I've read most of Somerset Maugham's writings & far from being one of the foremost of the 2nd rate authors ( as he himself termed it ) I consider him to be one of the foremost of all writers. It is possible to re - read Maugham's stories a number of times & get more from them on each reading. His stories are always beautifully written, have a beginning a middle & an end & always have a point. A writers notebook has more wisdom within it's pages than any other book I have read. I first read it perhaps 30yrs back & it has greatly influenced my views on life & it is great that a publisher has re - issued it as I had lost my copy many years back & until recently had not been able to locate a copy for sale other than those on the vintage market.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Maugham in miniature, March 29, 2011

By 

Prof PJL Klatzow (Rondebosch, Cape, ZA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Writer's Notebook (Twentieth Century Classics) (Mass Market Paperback)

Maugham was a secretive character all his life. Cursed with a dreadful stutter he toured the world in the company of his "secretary" Gerald. Gerald, an attractive high flier, acted as Maugham's "discoverer", bringing back little bits of information which Maugham then wove into his stories.

Maugham had a profound and penetrating view of the frailties of human nature. This little volume consists of snippets and observations which COULD have been major pieces, but were left in unfinished state. If you can bear the fragmentation, it is a wonderfully revealing book, one which can be picked up and put down often. It greatly helps of course if you appreciate Maugham's laconic observations of people. He was a somewhat morose individual but a writer of unsurpassed style.