The Collected Plays (Annotated)

Enriched Edition. A Man of Honour, Lady Frederick, The Explorer, The Circle, Caesar's Wife, East of Suez

William Somerset Maugham

• Publisher: e-artnow
• Year: 2015
• Topic: Literature
• eBook ISBN:
  9788026836711
• Subtopic: British Drama
• Index: Literature

The Collected Plays gathers William Somerset Maugham's major dramatic works, revealing the theatrical intelligence that made him one of the most successful playwrights of the Edwardian and interwar stage. These plays combine polished dialogue, deft construction, social irony, and a coolly observant treatment of desire, marriage, hypocrisy, and respectability. Positioned between the well-made play tradition and the sharper modern comedy of manners, Maugham's drama exposes the tensions beneath bourgeois surfaces while retaining the elegance and economy of popular theatre. Maugham's career uniquely equipped him for such work. Trained as a physician, widely travelled, and attentive to human frailty, he brought to the stage the same clinical precision and cosmopolitan skepticism that mark his fiction. Before achieving enduring fame as a novelist and short-story writer, he was a dominant presence in London theatre, and his dramatic success shaped his understanding of plot, revelation, and character under pressure. This collection is recommended for readers interested in modern British drama, literary craftsmanship, and the social worlds that preceded and followed the First World War. It offers both theatrical pleasure and a lucid anatomy of human compromise. This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience. - A comprehensive Introduction outlines these selected works' unifying features, themes, or stylistic evolutions. - The Author Biography highlights personal milestones and literary influences that shape the entire body of writing. - A Historical Context section situates the works in their broader era—social currents, cultural trends, and key events that underpin their creation. - A concise Synopsis (Selection) offers an accessible overview of the included texts, helping readers navigate plotlines and main ideas without revealing critical twists. - A unified Analysis examines recurring motifs and stylistic hallmarks across the collection, tying the stories together while spotlighting the different work's strengths. - Reflection questions inspire deeper contemplation of the author's overarching message, inviting readers to draw connections among different texts and relate them to modern contexts. - Lastly, our hand?picked Memorable Quotes distill pivotal lines and turning points, serving as touchstones for the collection's central themes.

Table of contents

• Introduction
• Author Biography
• Historical Context
• Synopsis (Selection)
• The Collected Plays: A Man of Honour, Lady Frederick, The Explorer, The Circle, Caesar's Wife, East of Suez
• Analysis
• Reflection
• Memorable Quotes