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Considered by many to be Maugham's masterpiece, «Of Human Bondage» is the semi-autobiographical tale of Philip Carey, who like Maugham, is orphaned and brought up by his uncle. «Of Human Bondage» is a «bildungsroman» that traces the travels of its main character to Germany, Paris and London while exploring the intellectual, emotional and psychological development of the protagonist and later his destructive relationship with the main female character, Mildred Rogers. Originally published in 1915, «Of Human Bondage» is one the great classics of the English language.

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Based on the life of Paul Gauguin, «The Moon and Sixpence» is the story of Charles Strickland, an English banker who walks away from a life of privilege to pursue his passion to become a painter. Strickland leaves London for Paris and ultimately Tahiti. «The Moon and Sixpence» is the story of the demands that can be placed on a tortured artistic soul and the lives that it touches.

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First published in 1908, «The Magician» is one of the early novels of W. Somerset Maugham, a Frenchman who lived from 1874 to 1965. Although his popularity was at its highest in the 1930s, this novel is a clear precursor of the simplistic, often haunting method of writing that brought him fame. This tale revolves around the magician Oliver Haddo, a man living in the bohemian Paris of the beginning of the twentieth century. Haddo, a caricature of the disreputable black magician Aleister Crowley of Maugham's day, makes a sinister attempt to create life. The author tells this story to remarkable effect, combining the weird and ghastly with the pure and sweet aspects of ordinary life in an effortless and genuine way. Though actually written in London, this novel reveals the café society of Paris in such a way that demonstrates the intimate knowledge of Maugham, who lavished his considerable skill as a writer on this surprisingly lesser known of his works.

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