William Somerset Maugham is a master of the short story. He was a famous literary figure for many years and a prolific writer, but of all his work it is his short stories that are best known and loved. Every one is perfectly composed and complete, however short. The characters in their cosmopolitan surroundings live from the first sentence and the point is made with delicate irony, with wit or cynical detachment. Such expertly drawn illustrations of human behaviour and foibles are unforgettable.

Written intermittently between 1920 and 1945, the stories have been grouped by Maugham himself according to their locale so that 'the reader can take his bearings in whatever distant land I choose to lead him to'.

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