About this title: From 1892, when he was eighteen, until 1949, when this book was first published, Somerset Maugham kept a notebook. It is without doubt one of his most important works. Part autobiographical, part confessional, packed with observations, confidences, experiments and jottings it is a rich and exhilarating admission into this great writer's workshop.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Doubleday
Date Published: 1949
Description: Fair. Hardcover. First edition (trade). Unmarked. Clipped dust jacket has several small edge tears and chips; has been removed and pressed inside the book resulting in vertical creases. Covers have visible scuffing; corners lightly bumped; spine illegible and has a few damp spots. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: COSMOPOLITAN MAGAZINE NEW YORK
Date Published: 1949
Description: Good Condition. Hardcover, Good Condition, text is clean/unmarked, tight binding, some edge/cover wear, from a private collection. read more
Binding: Unknown Binding
Publisher: William Heinemann & The Book Soc
Date Published: 1949
Description: Good in Good-unclipped jacket. REPRINT; Hardback complete with dustcover, unclipped. Dustcover a bit worn and chipped; Black cloth with silver pattern and title lettering embossed on front board and spine, very good; Text clean and binding tight; rest All in good condition; read more
Edition: Limited Edition
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Cosmopolitan Magazine, New York
Date Published: 1949
Description: Very good. No dust jacket. faded lines on covers top and bottom, otherwise no other flaws, [i]-xvi, 1-349 [1] p., 1L.; 21.5 cm., blue cloth over boards, sewn binding, gold title on black square read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Macmillan Education Australia
ISBN-13:9780330254939ISBN:0330254936
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Vintage Books
Date Published: 2009-12-01
ISBN-13:9780307473196ISBN:0307473198
Description: NEW. Softcover. From an inventory that is 100% brand-new, 100% direct from the publishers' distribution channel. We carry NO pre-owned, NO remaindered. We pack in CARDBOARD to ensure the pristine quality is maintained. (Bubble-wrap alone is NOT sufficient to protect from USPS equipment. ) Guaranteed brand-NEW, protected with CARDBOARD, your satisfaction is guaranteed. BKLUVID: 9780307473196. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Macmillan Education Australia
Date Published: 1978
ISBN-13:9780330254939ISBN:0330254936
Description: Good. Book cover-The cover of this book is creased or has markings in accordance with the book's age. Page colour-Slightly discoloured in accordance with book age. **SHIPPED FROM UK** We believe you will be completely satisfied with our quick and reliable service. All orders are dispatched as swiftly as possible! Buy with confidence! read more
Binding: Cloth
Publisher: Readers Union
Date Published: 1951
Description: Good. 12mo-over 6¾"-7¾" tall. A collection of random thoughts from Maugham's notebook from 1892 to 1944. An unmarked solid copy. read more
Edition: 3rd Printing
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Star Editions, London, England
Date Published: 1951
Description: Good in Good jacket. 3rd Printing; previous owner inscription; dj torn (largest 1.25"), rubbed; cover torn 1.25" at bottom of spine. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: COSMOPOLITAN MAGAZINE NEW YORK
Date Published: 1949
Description: Very Good. 1949 Cosmopolitan Magazine Hardcover / No Jacket. This book is a limited edition reprint of the condensed series printed in the magazine. This book came before the Doubleday print. Book is in great condition. Blue cloth over board covers have light edge, shelf, and corner wear. Spine is in great shape with minimal wear. Pages are clean. Binding is tight. read more
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: William Heinemann, Melbourne
Date Published: 1949
Description: Good+ No Jacket. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. Hb, black/silver boards, G+/--, 439pp, Moderate wear to slightly loose boards at corners and edges, rubbing and bumps to corners, inside has gift inscr to ffep, age browning to epp & page edges, else square and tight. Brilliant insight by reading fragments and lots of thoughts on lierature from his notebook. 630g when packed. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Readers Union
Date Published: 1951
Description: Acceptable. Ragged edged dustjacket, chipping and closed tear to spine, boards and binding sound with minor discolouration, internally clean and bright. UK dispatch. read more
Edition: Preprint Ltd
Binding: HC
Publisher: Cosmopolitan, NY
Date Published: 1949
Description: VG+ Preceeds the book published by Doubleday in expanded format. Issue without dust jacket. Binding is tight and clean, but the f. Front cover has a small blob on it + minor grubbiness on lower edge of pages. An interesting item. Author's notebook. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: London: William Heinemann, 1949
Description: 2nd impression. 8vo. Pp xvi + 349. Black cloth boards stamped in silver on the spine and upper board. Very Good in tattered, much repaired dust-jacket. read more
Edition: First Edition, So Stated
Binding: Cloth
Publisher: Doubleday, NY
Date Published: 1949
Description: Very Good Plus/Good. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall A handsome copy bound in black cloth covers.367 pages. Corners bunped a bit. Light rubbing to some few edges. DJ is essentially complete and has lots of edge wear, small closed tears and some small pieces missing. Otherwise a tight, clean, complete copy with very clean internals. read more
Edition: First
Publisher: Doubleday, Garden City
Date Published: 1949
Description: First American trade edition. Owner name, some pencil notes throughout else near fine in a very good minus dustwrapper with some small chips and tears. read more
"Methinks I've been hoodwinked. It appears I have a very odd edition of this book, an edition that precedes even the real first edition. This is "Preprinted from Cosmopolitan Magazine" and is a condensed 133-page version bound prior to the first full edition in 1949. It's hardcover in blue cloth and is in excellent condition. Got it for $2. Even so I might have been reluctant to buy this knowing it isn't the full magilla; I'm not one for Reader's Digest type reductions. I took this to the park earlier today not knowing this and started reading it and was amused at Maugham's offhanded apologies for the defects of the thinking in his youthful writings herein and also for his self-congratulations for allowing them to stay in uncensored, though the claim is frought with falsity to some degree given that the notebook is the result of intensive selection from several volumes -- in other words, stuff is omitted. We may never know what. And, even if Maugham is not censoring his earlier self, his older self cannot help but interject a running commentary on his youthful stuff. I wonder if Maugham failed to see the irony of this, after all, the later self certainly has the advantage the younger self did not, the advantage of hindsight and the power to interject on the musings of a voice long gone that could not possibly defend itself. So, I suppose I'll read this condensed "preprint". It made for nice reading while sunning at the park. I was especially struck by SM's thoughts on the subject of taking notes of one's impressions, and how those notes should be later incorporated into other writings or whether doing that merely results in forced hybrid copy and hinders the imagination. This is something I've struggled with myself.
"This is a weird read. I was surprised that I liked it. It is a collection of Maugham's notebook entries from the turn of the 20th century to 1949, minus his notes on India. He reveals a typical aristocratic British belief that different peoples have different national characters, reveals his dislike for assertive or ugly women, dislikes American coffee, believes that Americans are very class conscious despite their supposed egalitarianism, and so on. He adores French culture but deplores their political stupidity, which caused them to be twice defeated by the Germans. There is, of course, much more, ranging from brief scenarios for hypothetical novels or short stories to random observations about human nature. I found it a good companion for a lazy, pouring rainy day in Houston, Texas. He waxes philosophical about the meaning of life and about the validity of religion, as well. An interesting glimpse into a writer's thoughts and inspirations."
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