The Skeptical Romancer: Selected Travel Writing; Edited and Introduced by Pico Iyer

Author:   W. Somerset Maugham ,  Pico Iyer ,  Pico Iyer
Publisher:   Random House USA Inc
ISBN:  

9780307272126


Pages:   248
Publication Date:   03 November 2009
Format:   Hardback
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
Limited stock is available. It will be ordered for you and shipped pending supplier's limited stock.

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The Skeptical Romancer: Selected Travel Writing; Edited and Introduced by Pico Iyer


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Overview

W. Somerset Maugham was one of the seminal writers of the twentieth century, and his travel writing has long been considered among his finest work. Now, acclaimed travel writer Pico Iyer maps out a masterful tour of these vivid, evocative pieces that are collected here for the first time. Maugham worked as a secret agent in Russia, published novels in London, staged plays in New York, and traveled throughout Europe, Asia, India, and the United States, chronicling his travels, wherever he went, with exceptional insight. Beginning with “In the Land of the Blessed Virgin” and culminating in “A Partial View,” Iyer selects vignettes of Maugham’s razor-sharp prose that track his transformation from a boyish traveler in Spain to a worldly man of letters. This is Maugham at his most keenly observant, direct, and powerful.

Full Product Details

Author:   W. Somerset Maugham ,  Pico Iyer ,  Pico Iyer
Publisher:   Random House USA Inc
Imprint:   Random House Inc
Dimensions:   Width: 13.10cm , Height: 2.00cm , Length: 21.10cm
Weight:   0.386kg
ISBN:  

9780307272126


ISBN 10:   0307272125
Pages:   248
Publication Date:   03 November 2009
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Out of Stock Indefinitely
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
Limited stock is available. It will be ordered for you and shipped pending supplier's limited stock.

Table of Contents

Introduction by Pico Iyer Select Bibliography Chronology A Very Young Traveller in Spain (from The Land of the Blessed Virgin) The Spirit of Andalusia         The Churches of Ronda         The Mosque at Cordova         The Court of Oranges          Seville               The Giralda             Gaol               Corrida de Toros           Wind and Storm           Jerez               Cadiz               Adios               Sketches of China (from On a Chinese Screen) My Lady’s Parlour           The Cabinet Minister          Dinner Parties: Legation Quarter       The Inn              Her Britannic Majesty’s Representative     The Last Chance           Henderson             Romance             The Song of the River          The Stranger             The Philosopher           The Missionary Lady           The Plain             A Student of the Drama         A City Built on a Rock          Across Southeast Asia (from The Gentleman in the Parlour) Pagan               Mandalay             The Nuns at Mengon          On the Trail             The Salween             The Market             Keng Tung             The Solitary             Siam               Bangkok              Buddha              The Fever             Angkor              A Last Day in Angkor          Saigon and Tourane           Hue¨               A Night on the River           A Classmate in Haiphong         A Life in Retrospect (from The Partial View, comprising The Summing Up and A Writer’s Notebook) Early Travels             Mobility              Capri               At War              Hawaii               The Missionary and Miss Thompson      A Castaway             Tahiti               Russia               The Nevsky Prospekt           Opium Dream            The Sultan             A Dream             India               Benares              The Taj              Madura              In Texas

Reviews

Maugham is a great artist. . . . A genius. --Theodore Dreiser <p/> An expert craftsman. . . . His style is sharp, quick, subdued, casual. --The New York Times <p/> Maugham has given infinite pleasure and left us a splendour of writing which will remain for as long as the written English word is permitted to exist. --The Daily Telegraph <p/> The modern writer who has influenced me most is Somerset Maugham. --George Orwell <p/> Maugham remains the consummate craftsman. . . . [His prose is] so compact, so economical, so closely motivated, so skillfully written, that it rivets attention from the first page to last. --The Saturday Review of Literature <p/> It is very difficult for a writer of my generation, if he is honest, to pretend indifference to the work of Somerset Maugham. . . . He was always so entirely there. --Gore Vidal


Maugham is a great artist. . . . A genius. Theodore Dreiser An expert craftsman. . . . His style is sharp, quick, subdued, casual. The New York Times Maugham has given infinite pleasure and left us a splendour of writing which will remain for as long as the written English word is permitted to exist. The Daily Telegraph The modern writer who has influenced me most is Somerset Maugham. George Orwell Maugham remains the consummate craftsman. . . . [His prose is] so compact, so economical, so closely motivated, so skillfully written, that it rivets attention from the first page to last. The Saturday Review of Literature It is very difficult for a writer of my generation, if he is honest, to pretend indifference to the work of Somerset Maugham. . . . He was always so entirely there. Gore Vidal


Maugham is a great artist. . . . A genius. Theodore Dreiser An expert craftsman. . . . His style is sharp, quick, subdued, casual. The New York Times Maugham has given infinite pleasure and left us a splendour of writing which will remain for as long as the written English word is permitted to exist. The Daily Telegraph The modern writer who has influenced me most is Somerset Maugham. George Orwell Maugham remains the consummate craftsman. . . . [His prose is] so compact, so economical, so closely motivated, so skillfully written, that it rivets attention from the first page to last. The Saturday Review of Literature It is very difficult for a writer of my generation, if he is honest, to pretend indifference to the work of Somerset Maugham. . . . He was always so entirely there. Gore Vidal


Maugham is a great artist. . . . A genius. --Theodore Dreiser<br> <br> An expert craftsman. . . . His style is sharp, quick, subdued, casual. -- The New York Times <br> <br> Maugham has given infinite pleasure and left us a splendour of writing which will remain for as long as the written English word is permitted to exist. -- The Daily Telegraph <br> <br> The modern writer who has influenced me most is Somerset Maugham. --George Orwell<br> <br> Maugham remains the consummate craftsman. . . . [His prose is] so compact, so economical, so closely motivated, so skillfully written, that it rivets attention from the first page to last. -- The Saturday Review of Literature <br> <br> It is very difficult for a writer of my generation, if he is honest, to pretend indifference to the work of Somerset Maugham. . . . He was always so entirely there. --Gore Vidal


Maugham is a great artist. . . . A genius. --Theodore Dreiser An expert craftsman. . . . His style is sharp, quick, subdued, casual. --The New York Times Maugham has given infinite pleasure and left us a splendour of writing which will remain for as long as the written English word is permitted to exist. --The Daily Telegraph The modern writer who has influenced me most is Somerset Maugham. --George Orwell Maugham remains the consummate craftsman. . . . [His prose is] so compact, so economical, so closely motivated, so skillfully written, that it rivets attention from the first page to last. --The Saturday Review of Literature It is very difficult for a writer of my generation, if he is honest, to pretend indifference to the work of Somerset Maugham. . . . He was always so entirely there. --Gore Vidal


Author Information

W. Somerset Maugham, author of such novels as Cakes and Ale and Of Human Bondage, was born in 1874 and died in 1965. His books have sold nearly 40 million copies. Pico Iyer is the author of many books about travel, including Video Night in Kathmandu. His most recent book is The Open Road.

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