17th June 2010
Doors at 6 pm, Talk commences at 7 pm
William Somerset Maugham (1874-1965), author of classics such as Of Human Bondage, Cakes and Ale and The Razor’s Edge, was one of the most famous writers in the world. Yet much was hidden. Predominantly homosexual, Maugham made a disastrous marriage although deeply in love with a charming but dissolute young man. It was partly to escape his wife that Maugham undertook the journeys that inspired so many stories. Moving between London, New York and Hollywood, he entertained lavishly at his villa in the south of France, and during both world wars he worked for British Intelligence. Outwardly his life was richly rewarding, but privately he suffered anguish from an unrequited love affair and a shocking final betrayal.
Selina Hastings is a writer and literary journalist who worked on the Daily Telegraph for fourteen years and became subsequently the literary editor for Harpers & Queen. She has published biographies of Nancy Mitford, Evelyn Waugh, and Rosamond Lehmann. Her biography of Waugh won the Marsh biography prize
Talk at 11 Mare Street - please click here to buy tickets
