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British and Commonwealth Literary Studies
William Somerset Maugham Collection
The Collections
Stanford has several collections that contain original manuscripts, correspondence,
and other archival materials related to William Somerset Maugham.
Location of All Collections: Department of Special Collections,
Green Library
Research Access and Use: Materials in the Department of Special
Collections are non-circulating and must be used in the Special Collections'
Reading Room in the Cecil H. Green Library. The Reading Room is open
10:00am to 5:00pm Monday through Friday. Photocopies, photographs, and
microfilm can be made of some materials in the collections. For more
information about the collections and access policies, please contact
Special Collections by telephone at (650) 725-1022, by electronic mail
at speccollref@stanford.edu or by regular mail at the Department of Special
Collections, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, California 94305-6004.
Career of William Somerset Maugham (1874 - 1965)
British playwright, novelist, and short story writer, William Somerset
Maugham was born in Paris in 1874, and studied medicine at Heidelburg
University. His first novel, Liza of Lambeth (1897), was not well
received nor was his first collection of short stories, Orientations
(1899), but he later achieved popular acclaim as a playwright with
the production of Lady Frederick (1907), and by end of the following
year he had four plays running in London. He succeeded with his next attempt
at fiction, Of Human Bondage (1915), based on his experiences while
studying medicine in Heidelburg. After serving in the British Intelligence
Service in World War I, Maugham began traveling around the world. He continued
to write, basing his work on the people and places he encountered in his
travels, frequently using a novelist as his narrator. His eleven subsequent
novels include The Moon and Sixpence (1919), Cakes and Ale
(1930), and The Razor's Edge (1944). He turned from fiction to
autobiography and reminiscence with The Summing Up (1938), A
Writer's Notebook (1952), and Points of View (1958).
William Somerset Maugham Collection, 1921-1979 (inclusive), 1921-1958
(bulk)
Size: 2.5 linear ft.(600 items)
Call Number: M0013
Content: This collection consists mainly of W. Somerset Maugham's
correspondence with Bertram Alanson, dating from 1921 through 1958 when
Alanson died. Alanson was both Maugham's investment consultant and personal
friend. The letters are very revealing about Maugham's activities, his
philosophy, his works.
There is additional correspondence to Alanson; some concerning Maugham
and some are written by members of Maugham's family.
Finding Guide: A printed version is available in the reading room
of the Department of Special Collections. Electronic versions of this
finding guide are also available. If you have Microsoft's Internet Explorer
version 6.0 or higher, click here to connect to the XML version on the
Stanford server; if not, click here for the html version on the Online
Archives of California server.
William Somerset Maugham. Papers, 1958, 1962
Size: 2 items.
Call Number: Misc 022
Content: includes a typed contract with Columbia Records, 1958,
and letter to Lord Beaverbrook ("Max"), 1962.
William Somerset Maugham. Complete Short Stories, author's proof copies
with corrections, 1951
Size: 4 v. in 2.
Call Number: M0847
Content: Proof copies of the book, The Complete Short Stories
of W. Somerset Maugham (1951) with handwritten notations.
William Somerset Maugham. Trio : screenplay, ca. 1950
Size: 167 p.
Content: A mimeographed, unpublished post-production script; the
only film on which Maugham himself worked. R.C. Sherriff and Noel Langley
assisted with the screen adaptation.
William Somerset Maugham. Playscripts from the Charles Frohman Collection
Size: 3 items.
Call Number: M0438
Content: Playscripts for the three Maugham plays: Mrs. Dot,
1910; Our Betters, 1923; and Smith, n.d.
William Somerset Maugham. Twenty Days in a Ship : draft and final
form of a radio broadcast, 1940 July 22
Size: 16 p.
Call Number: Misc 212
Content: Overseas transmission #111, which describes the English
refugees who left the French Riviera and returned to England on a small
boat.
William Somerset Maugham. Letters, 1946 and n.d., to Anthony Weymouth
Size: 2 items.
Call Number: Misc 213
Content: The letters make mention of his planned return to France,
his brother's health, etc.
William Somerset Maugham. Letters, 1953, to Dr. Geikie Cobb
Size: 2 items.
Call Number: Misc 214
Content: The letters make mention of his health and note that he
enjoyed Geikie Cobb's new mystery.
Last modified:
July 14, 2006
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