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Cover of The Razor's Edge by William Somerset Maugham

The Razor's Edge

William Somerset Maugham

  • 320 pages · about 5 hours
  • First published 1944
  • 135 editions
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1 About this book

This novel, supposedly based on the life of an acquaintance of Maugham, follows the fortunes of an American pilot who, traumatized by war, rejects his former conventional life to search for a more meaningful existence. After studying in Paris for two years he decides to travel, taking various menial jobs. Although being influenced by some of the people he meets it is not until he reaches India that he begins to find peace.

  • Medicine
  • Voyages and travels
  • Spiritual biography
  • Psychology
  • World War I
  • Veterans
  • Upper class
  • Travel

2 About William Somerset Maugham

1874–1965

William Somerset Maugham ( MAWM; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German university. He became a medical student in London and qualified as a physician in 1897. He never practised medicine, and became a full-time writer.

Bio adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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