Scope and Content Note
The papers of W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) span the years 1897-1966 with the bulk of material dating from 1897 to 1946. The collection consists of a bibliography, correspondence, newspaper clippings, press releases, a program, a speech, and writings. The writings include the manuscript of Maugham's autobiographical novel, Of Human Bondage, and its earlier, unpublished version, "The Artistic Temperament of Stephen Carey." Featured in the correspondence is a letter Maugham wrote to Martha V. Maremont concerning the origin of the title and the development of various characters in Of Human Bondage. There is considerable publicity material in the papers documenting Maugham's presentation of the manuscript to the Library of Congress in 1946.
Also included are installments of the play, For Services Rendered, published in the London Sunday Times in 1932.