that he had not only outlived his contemporaries including Shaw, Joseph Conrad, H. G. Wells, Henry James, Arnold Bennett and John Galsworthy but was now seen to rank with them in excellence, after years in which his popularity had caused critics to depreciate his work. The tribute continued, "Best sellers that appeal to the mass reader are seldom good literature, but there are exceptions. Of Human Bondage is certainly one; Cakes and Ale probably; The Moon and Sixpence possibly. Some of the short stories will undoubtedly prove immortal". In 2014 Robert McCrum concluded an article about Of Human Bondage − which he said "shows the author's savage honesty and gift for storytelling at their best": Notes, references and sources Notes References Sources Books Journals External links W. Somerset Maugham at Internet Off-Broadway Database National Theatre, Maugham's Theatrical Collection National Theatre, Shakespearean Characters William Somerset Maugham's stories on Malaya, Borneo and Singapore W. Somerset Maugham at the Internet Book List 1874 births 1965 deaths 19th-century British novelists 19th-century British short story writers 20th-century British dramatists and playwrights 20th-century English novelists Alumni of King's College London Bisexual men British bisexual writers British expatriates in France British expatriates in the United States British male dramatists and playwrights British medical writers English agnostics English atheists English dramatists and playwrights English male novelists English male short story writers English short story writers Heidelberg University alumni British LGBT dramatists and playwrights English LGBT novelists W. Somerset Maugham Members of the Order of the Companions of Honour People educated at The King's School, Canterbury People with speech impediment Secret Intelligence Service personnel Victorian novelists World War I spies for the United Kingdom Writers from Paris