Of Human Bondage A Novel

Maugham’s 1915 masterpiece—hailed by Modern Library as one of the 100 best novels of all time—is the coming-of-age story of a sensitive young man consumed by an unrequited passion. With a new introduction by Abraham Verghese, author of Cutting for Stone.

Born with a clubfoot, Philip is orphaned as a child and raised by unsympathetic relatives. Sent to a boarding school where he has difficulty fitting in, he grows up with an intense longing for love, art, and experience. After failing to become an artist in Paris, he begins medical studies in London, where he meets Mildred, a cold-hearted waitress with whom he falls into a powerful, tortured, life-altering love affair. The most autobiographical of Maugham’s works, Of Human Bondage is a brilliant and deeply moving portrayal of the price of passion and the universal desire for connection.

W. SOMERSET MAUGHAM was born in Paris in 1874. He trained as a doctor in London where he started writing his first novels. In 1926 he bought a house in Cap Ferrat, France, which was to become a meeting place for a number of writers, artists and politicians. He died in 1965.

About the Introducer: ABRAHAM VERGHESE is Professor and Vice Chair for the Theory and Practice of Medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine. The founding director of the Center for Medical Humanities & Ethics at the University of Texas Health Science Center, he is the author of My Own Country, a National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist; the critically acclaimed bestselling novel Cutting for Stone; and The Covenant of Water. Verghese received a National Humanities Medal from President Obama. He lives in Palo Alto, California.