Short Stories of William Somerset Maugham, Volume 1 (Unabridged‪)‬

William Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) was born at the height of British Imperial power. When he died, the British Empire was all but a memory. In Maugham's lifetime, as his civilization slowly disappeared, people from all walks of life - the proud, the urbane, the crude, the desperate - passed beneath the lens of his dispassionate scrutiny. They re-emerged in his short stories as some of the most unforgettable literary characters of the 20th century. No other writer possessed his keen ability of observation. It was an ability so well honed that his work makes you feel as if you have been drawn into an intimate conversation with the century's most arresting and sophisticated personality.

Included in this collection are:

The Outstation
Appearance and Reality
The Three Fat Women of Antibes
Mr. Know-All
French Joe
Masterson