SomersetMaughama famous British novelist playwright and short story writer.(25 January 1874 16 December 1965)section1BriefIntroductionofhislifeChildhood8yearsoldhismomdied,twoyearslaterhisfatherdied.MaughamwassenttotheUK to be cared for by his uncle, HenryMacDonald Maugham.his uncle provedcoldandemotionallycruel,hisnewschoolwasalsodifficultforhim.HewasteasedforhisbadEnglish(Frenchhadbeenhisfirstlanguage)andhisshortstature,whichheinheritedfromhisfather.ChildhoodMiserable both at his unclesvicarageandatschool,theyoungMaugham developed a talent formakingwoundingremarkstothosewhodispleasedhim.ThisabilityissometimesreflectedinMaughamsliterarycharacters.CareerMaughams father and three older brotherswere all distinguished lawyers, but Maughamaskedtobeexcusedfromthedutyoffollowingin their footsteps.Maugham had been writingsteadily since the age of 15 and ferventlywished to become an author，but later hestudied medicine at the medical school ，meetingpeopleofalowsortwhomhewouldneverhavemetotherwise,andseeingthemata time of heightened anxiety and meaning intheirlives.CareerIn 1897, he published his first novel,Liza of Lambeth, a tale of working-classadulteryanditsconsequences.Liza of Lambeths firstprintrunsoldoutinamatterofweeks.Maugham, who had qualified as amedic,droppedmedicineandembarkedonhis65-yearcareerasamanofletters.Helatersaid,Itooktoitasaducktakestowater.MarriageDuring his year in Heidelberg Maugham metand had a sexual affair with John EllinghamBrooks, an Englishman ten years his senior.Althoughhomosexual,Maughamenteredintoa relationship with Syrie Wellcome, anAmerican-bornEnglishpharmaceuticalmagnate. Henry Wellcome sued his wife fordivorce,namingMaughamasco-respondent.The marriage was unhappy,andSyrie divorced him in 1929, finding hisrelationshipandtravelswithHaxtontoodifficulttolivewith.MarriageMaughams love life was almost neversmooth. He once confessed: I have mostlovedpeoplewhocaredlittleornothingformeandwhenpeoplehavelovedmeIhavebeen embarrassed . In order not to hurttheirfeelings,IhaveoftenactedapassionIdidnotfeel.Section2WorksandwritingstyledramaLongnovelNotableWorksHisreputationasanovelistrestsprimarilyonthesebooks:LizaofLambeth(1897)wasW.SomersetMaughamsfirstnovel,whichhewrotewhileworkingasadoctoratahospitalinLambeth.ItdepictstheshortlifeanddeathofLizaKemp,an18-year-oldfactoryworkerwholivestogetherwithheragingmotherinthefictionalVereStreet.Allinall,itgivesthereaderaninterestinginsightintotheeverydaylivesofworkingclassLondonersattheendofthenineteenthcentury.Inclassicguide,Maughamintroducesanddiscusseswhatheconsiderstobethetengreatestnovelsandtheirauthors.Herearesomeoftheformulaeofgreatnessinthegenre.Maughamschoicelist:FieldingsTomJones;汤姆琼斯（亨利菲尔丁）DickenssDavidCopperfield;大卫科波菲尔（查尔斯狄更斯）FlaubertsMadameBovary;包法利夫人（福楼拜）BalzacsOldManGoriot;高老头(巴尔扎克）EmilyBrontesWutheringHeights,呼啸山庄（艾蜜莉勃朗特）DostoevskysTheBrothersKaramazov;卡拉马佐夫兄弟（陀思妥耶夫斯基)StendhalsTheRedandtheBlack;红与黑（斯汤达尔）AustensPrideandPrejudice;傲慢与偏见（珍奥斯汀）MelvillesMobyDick;白鲸记（赫尔曼梅尔维尔)TolstoysWarandPeace.战争与和平（托尔斯泰）HisWritingStyleMaugham was influenced by the published journals of the French writer Jules Renard, Ibsen and his comedies was influenced by Oscar Wilde a lot. Maugham had enjoyed for their conscientiousness, wisdom and wit.He always hold calm, aloof even particular attitudes with some satire and mercy to observe life in almost all his works.HisWritingStyleHis works are mianly about family, love and the twists in marriage.He described the situations and customs in the upper class and expressed the doubts about the society morality. His works are more satiric than humourous.section3InfluenceIn1947MaughaminstitutedtheSomersetMaughamAward,awardedtothebestBritishwriterorwritersundertheageofthirty-fiveforaworkoffictionpublishedinthepastyear.NotablewinnersincludeV.S.Naipaul,KingsleyAmis,MartinAmisandThomGunn.Onhisdeath,MaughamdonatedhisroyaltiestotheRoyalLiteraryFund.Otherwritersacknowledgedhiswork.AnthonyBurgess,whoincludedacomplexfictionalportraitofMaughaminthenovelEarthlyPowers,praisedhisinfluence.IanFlemingnotedthathewrotetheshortstoryQuantumofSolaceasanhomagetoMaughamswritingstyle.GeorgeOrwellsaidthatMaughamwasthemodernwriterwhohasinfluencedmethemost,whomIadmireimmenselyforhispoweroftellingastorystraightforwardlyandwithoutfrills.