The Gentleman in the Drawing Room (collected Works of Maugham)
About This Novel
In 1922, when Maugham was achieving great success as a playwright, short story and novelist, and even a socialite, he put it all aside and made a long and arduous trip to Southeast Asia. Maugham accidentally read a passage from Herzlitt's "On Travel" on the boat going up the Irrawaddy River to Bagan: "Wonderful! Break free from the shackles of the world and public opinion - leave our entangled, annoying, endless self-identity in nature, be a person of the moment, and eliminate all burdens --Only a plate of offal to sustain everything, and owe nothing except the night's wine debt. No longer seeking applause and being despised, only known by the title of the gentleman in the drawing room!" I was so enlightened that I decided to write such a travelogue and titled it "The Gentleman in the Drawing Room". However, it was not until seven years later that he actually wrote the book, and confessed in the "Preface": "This book is not an accident like "On the Chinese Screen". The journey described in the book was my wish; but I had intended to write it as a book from the beginning. I had fun writing "On the Chinese Screen". I want to try my craft again on the same subject, but on a more refined scale and in a form that I can give a clear pattern. This is an exercise in style."
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