Title: poorly written biography of elegant author
Review: Meyers seems to have his facts right, but what a contrast between this clumsily written biography and Maugham's own prose. The biographer is both tone-deaf and condescending towards his subject. Maybe growing up in New York City is a handicap when it comes to understanding the European fin-de-siecle spirit.Example: on p. 19 Meyers writes that the child was not 'cunning' enough to avoid mockery and humiliation an King's School. Pardon me: Willie Maugham had a strong French accent, was small for his age and very shy and to top it off was afflicted with a very bad stammer. Understandably, Maugham suffered from this experience for the rest of his life. What a sad story.And why describe his mother's guests as "lady friends invited for tea and gossip"? I get the feeling that Meyers simply doesn't like his subject. Here's hoping that the book improves; but so far it simply seems to need a good edit all the way through.
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