194:. The narrator, a well-to-do author named William Ashenden, is unexpectedly contacted by Alroy Kear, a moderately talented London writer who has been asked to write a biography of the famous, recently deceased novelist Edward Driffield by Amy, his second wife. Driffield, once scorned for his realist representation of late-Victorian working-class characters, had in his later years come to be lionised by scholars of English letters. Amy, a nurse to the ailing Edward after his first wife left him, is known for her propriety, and her interest in augmenting and cementing her husband's literary reputation. Her only identity is that of caretaker of her husband in life and of his reputation in death. It is well-known, however, that Driffield wrote his best novels while he was married to his first wife and muse, Rosie.
330:, with whom Maugham had an eight-year-long affair culminating in her rejection of his marriage proposal. "The great love of Maugham's life was undoubtedly the warm, gentle, maternal, sexy Sue Jones." However, in his Modern Library introduction, Maugham said, "the model for what I consider the most engaging heroine I have ever created could never have recognized herself in my novel, since by the time I wrote it she was dead."
205:, a small town in Kent. He is befriended by Driffield, then an obscure writer, who is married to a former barmaid, Rosie. Both are well beneath Ashenden's social status, but he finds them interesting and visits them often. The relationship ends when the Driffields skip town, leaving a host of creditors unpaid.
292:(who had died two years previously). In response to a letter from Walpole inquiring about the association, Maugham denied it: "I certainly never intended Alroy Kear to be a portrait of you. He is made up of a dozen people and the greater part of him is myself". In an introduction written for the 1950
303:
by A. Riposte was published in the United States and told the story of "a novelist who writes novels about other novelists", and furthered the speculation about the
Walpole/Kear association. It was rumoured that the author was Hugh Walpole himself, after the novel appeared in England under the title
212:
Driffield marries his nurse, Amy, who rearranges his life and molds him into a famous and cherished author. Kear becomes close to them and after
Driffield's death, is asked to write his biography. Amy and Kear both denigrate Rosie and see the only good thing about her is abandoning Driffield so his
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levelled at the character Rosie
Driffield, whose frankness, honesty, and sexual freedom make her a target of conservative opprobrium. Her character is treated favourably by the book's narrator, Ashenden, who understands that she was a muse to the many artists who surrounded her, and who himself
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Years later, as a medical student in London, Ashenden runs into Rosie on the street and renews the friendship. Driffield is beginning to make a name for himself, championed by Mrs. Barton
Trafford, a socialite who promotes and manages promising talent. Ashenden and Rosie become lovers, but he
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Knowing that
Ashenden had an acquaintanceship with the Driffields as a young man, Kear presses him for inside information about Edward's past, including Rosie, who has been oddly erased from the official narrative of Edward's genius.
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George Kemp/Iggulden (Lord George): Vivacious middle-class coal merchant and entrepreneur of
Blackstable who runs off with Mrs Driffield to the United States and changes his name to Iggulden to protect himself from
234:(February, March, April, and June 1930). The first edition of the novel was published in September the same year by William Heinemann in London and the Garden City Publishing Company in Garden City, New York.
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Two of the novel's principal characters, Alroy Kear and Edward
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suspects that she is having affairs with other male friends as well. This second period ends when Rosie runs off to
America with "Lord George" Kemp, a former lover from the Blackstable years.
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art virtuous, there shall be no more cakes and ale?" Cakes and ale are also the
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Alroy Kear: Biographer of Edward Driffield, literary acquaintance of Ashenden.
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402:(introduction to Modern Library edition). Random House (1950), pp. xi–xii.
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William Heinemann Ltd. (UK); Garden City Publishing Company, Inc. (US)
443:(introduction to Modern Library edition). Random House (1950), p. xi.
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473:. Connecticut, USA: Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 112.
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The story is a satire of London literary society during the
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Amy Driffield: Nurse and second wife to Edward Driffield.
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was first published in serialised form in four issues of
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378:, ed. (1912). "The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse".
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Edward Driffield (Ted): Late-Victorian realist author.
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115:(1930) is a novel by the British author
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119:. Maugham exposes the misguided social
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299:In 1931, a pseudonymous novel called
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163:The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse
255:Miss Fellows: Ashenden's landlady.
243:William Ashenden: Author-narrator.
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457:The Fine Art of Literary Mayhem
317:The Fine Art of Literary Mayhem
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1361:Novels by W. Somerset Maugham
35:Cover of the first UK edition
939:Ten Novels and Their Authors
502:. Memorable TV. 17 May 2016.
145:: "Dost thou think, because
124:enjoyed her sexual favours.
1376:Heinemann (publisher) books
412:Hart-Davis, Rupert (1985).
319:, Myrick Land asserts that
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742:Creatures of Circumstance
168:In his introduction to a
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1184:The Hour Before the Dawn
486:Somerset Maugham: A Life
484:Meyers, Jeffrey (2005).
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702:The Trembling of a Leaf
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469:Rogal, Samuel (1997).
279:Real-life counterparts
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896:For Services Rendered
734:The Mixture as Before
611:The Moon and Sixpence
1356:Novels about writers
488:. Knopf. p. 77.
157:' 1912 rendition of
153:of the good life in
1351:1930 British novels
1248:Miss Sadie Thompson
1144:The Vessel of Wrath
968:The Land of Promise
923:On a Chinese Screen
832:The Land of Promise
768:The Vessel of Wrath
564:W. Somerset Maugham
356:Masterpiece Theatre
137:William Shakespeare
117:W. Somerset Maugham
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328:Henry Arthur Jones
221:Publishing history
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1176:Christmas Holiday
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1312:The Painted Veil
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1280:Of Human Bondage
1208:Of Human Bondage
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1088:Of Human Bondage
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1080:Our Betters
951:Adaptations
915:Non-fiction
840:Our Betters
358:in the US.
346:, starring
334:Adaptations
306:Full Circle
203:Blackstable
1345:Categories
1152:The Letter
1040:The Letter
1008:The Circle
992:Jack Straw
872:The Letter
856:The Circle
523:Faded Page
362:References
238:Characters
67:Publisher
824:Penelope
718:Ashenden
683:Catalina
525:(Canada)
133:Malvolio
121:snobbery
51:Language
1323:Related
1224:Quartet
904:Sheppey
726:Ah King
643:Theatre
151:emblems
54:English
1315:(2006)
1307:(2004)
1299:(2000)
1291:(1984)
1283:(1964)
1275:(1962)
1267:(1957)
1259:(1954)
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1240:Encore
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1003:(1925)
995:(1920)
987:(1919)
979:(1917)
971:(1917)
963:(1915)
942:(1954)
934:(1938)
926:(1922)
907:(1933)
899:(1932)
891:(1930)
883:(1928)
875:(1927)
867:(1926)
859:(1921)
851:(1919)
843:(1917)
835:(1913)
827:(1909)
819:(1909)
811:(1907)
803:(1902)
745:(1947)
737:(1940)
729:(1933)
721:(1928)
713:(1926)
705:(1921)
686:(1948)
678:(1946)
670:(1944)
662:(1941)
654:(1939)
646:(1937)
638:(1932)
630:(1930)
622:(1925)
614:(1919)
606:(1915)
598:(1908)
590:(1902)
582:(1897)
571:Novels
420:
41:Author
976:Smith
816:Smith
792:Plays
560:Works
159:Aesop
101:Pages
62:Novel
59:Genre
1232:Trio
1064:Rain
761:Rain
418:ISBN
350:and
288:and
147:thou
80:1930
562:by
521:at
340:BBC
315:In
139:'s
135:in
131:to
104:308
1347::
448:^
432:^
386:17
312:.
784:"
780:"
777:"
773:"
770:"
766:"
763:"
759:"
552:e
545:t
538:v
426:.
388:.
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