Featured Pipe Smoker: W. Somerset Maugham

William Somerset Maugham (1874 - 1965)

"Only a mediocre writer is always at his best."

English playwright, novelist and short story author who was reputedly the highest-paid author in the world during the 1930s.

Maugham was born in Paris on the grounds of the British Embassy so that he would technically be born on British soil (his father's wish). His mother died when he was 8 years old and it so traumatized him that he kept a picture of her on his bedside table until his own death. He studied medicine in London and spent much of his time there filling notebooks with writing ideas.

By 1914, when World War I began, he was too old to enlist so he became one of the Red Cross's ambulance drivers. During the war he also worked on the continent for British intelligence.

Many of his works were adapted for film.

Further links: Wikipedia, imdb.com.