A masterpiece of modern literature that mirrors Maugham's own career.
Of Human Bondage is the first and most autobiographical of Maugham's novels. It is the story of Philip Carey, an orphan eager for life, love and adventure. After a few months studying in Heidelberg, and a brief spell in Paris as a would-be artist, Philip settles in London to train as a doctor. And that is where he meets Mildred, the loud but irresistible waitress with whom he plunges into a formative, tortured and masochistic affair which very nearly ruins him. A superb storyteller - one of the very best in our language * Daily Mail * The modern writer who has influenced me most -- George Orwell Maugham has given infinite pleasure and left us a splendour of writing which will remain for as long as the written English word is permitted to exist * Daily Telegraph * This semi-autobiographical novel, set at the end of the 19th century, gripped me from the start with its tale of the life of Philip Carey. Its depiction of how a man can become enslaved by an unsuitable love is unsparing -- Christopher Simon Sykes * The Week *
Of Human Bondage