Somerset
I've just this minute finished reading a book of children's stories by W. Somerset Maugham. I've never read anything by him before, and I have to say that I very much enjoyed it. The book is called The Kite and other stories, and was first published in 1963. The edition is a Macmillan New Windmills and is hardcover in green with a stylised picture of a woman wearing a hat and hat-pins flying a kite with an expression of joy.
A friend bought the book, among others, at a book sale. It had at one point belonged to a school library and I suppose they must have been raising money for the school by selling off old books. Looking at the tone of the stories it is true that the contents might not be so suitable for the children of today. The first story is about an old man who travels thousands of miles to return to the house where he was born, because that is where he wants to die. The second story is about a Scotsman who is chased out of his home by the ghost of a gibbering madman, the third story is about a South American generalissimo with a wicked scar on his face who once faced down a firing squad. There is a definite streak of darkness through the book, yet here and there are moments of sunshine and I believe that Maugham has tried to capture something of the essence of human nature.
A friend bought the book, among others, at a book sale. It had at one point belonged to a school library and I suppose they must have been raising money for the school by selling off old books. Looking at the tone of the stories it is true that the contents might not be so suitable for the children of today. The first story is about an old man who travels thousands of miles to return to the house where he was born, because that is where he wants to die. The second story is about a Scotsman who is chased out of his home by the ghost of a gibbering madman, the third story is about a South American generalissimo with a wicked scar on his face who once faced down a firing squad. There is a definite streak of darkness through the book, yet here and there are moments of sunshine and I believe that Maugham has tried to capture something of the essence of human nature.