Books

Washington: The Library of Congress, 1946. Signed limited edition of the address given by Maugham upon the Library's acceptance of the original autograph manuscript of his masterpiece, Of Human Bondage. Octavo, original boards. One of 500 copies signed by W. Somerset Maugham on the front free endpaper. In fine condition. Accompanied by the original accompanying program which is in very good condition. The program contains a brief description of the original autograph manuscript which notes that it is contained in 16 notebooks written on the recto of each leaf, begun in 1911 and finished in 1914. “Maugham’s longest and most ambitious novel, in which ‘fact and fiction are inextricably mixed,’ draws heavily upon the author’s own youth, with circumstances and names scarcely altered” (Parker, 63). “As early as 1911 [Maugham] had retired temporarily from the theatre to work on his long novel, Of Human Bondage. He was to correct the proofs under the admiring eyes of Desmond…

Of Human Bondage is a novel by W. Somerset Maugham. It is a semi-autobiographical story about the life of a young man, Philip Carey, who struggles to find his identity and place in the world.