Books

Garden City, NY: Doubleday Doran & Company, 1944. First American edition, which precedes the British edition of Maugham’s 20th-century manifesto for human fulfillment. Octavo, bound in full morocco, gilt titles to the spine, raised bands, gilt ruled to the front and rear panels, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. In fine condition. "Written after much painstaking research into Eastern philosophy and mysticism, The Razor’s Edge is Maugham’s 20th-century manifesto for human fulfillment. In it he mercilessly satirizes American and European materialism, and holds up the figure of the spiritual seeker as a model for those searching for meaning in existence" (Stringer). It was twice adapted into film, first in 1946 starring Tyrone Power and Gene Tierney, and Herbert Marshall as Maugham and Anne Baxter as Sophie, and then a 1984 adaptation starring Bill Murray.

'The Razor's Edge' follows the story of a war veteran Larry Darrell and his quest for spiritual enlightenment in the chaos of post-WWI society. Maugham's novel explores themes of existential crisis, the search for meaning, and the complexities of human relationships.