(1930) is W. Somerset Maugham’s most amusing novel, and one of the finest satires ever written on the subject of literary celebrity. It is also notable for its ingeniously time-shifting narrative construction and for containing Maugham’s warmest portrayal of a female character. It landed Maugham in some controversy upon its first publication, but soon became a favourite among his books, both for his huge international readership and for the author himself. Its narrative is an exercise in first-person retrospect, the narrator being William Ashenden, a successful Maugham-like writer of novels and plays, previously introduced as the protagonist, although not narrator, of Maugham’s espionage-stories collected in
Ashenden(1928). The title
2055 words
Citation: Baldick, Chris. "Cakes and Ale". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 29 June 2020 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=11445, accessed 21 November 2024.]
