Background Somerset Maugham(1874-1965: an English writer considered to be one of the best writers of short stories in the English language. He also wrote plays and novels. His novels and short stories are characterized by y great narrative facility, simplicity of style, and a disillusioned and ironic point of vIew Maugham was born in Paris and studied medicine at the University of Somerset Maugham Heidelberg and at Saint Thomas's (1874-1965) Hospital, LondonBackground Somerset Maugham (1874-1965): an English writer considered to be one of the best writers of short stories in the English language. He also wrote plays and novels. His novels and short stories are characterized by great narrative facility, simplicity of style, and a disillusioned and ironic point of view. Maugham was born in Paris and studied medicine at the University of Heidelberg and at Saint Thomas’s Hospital, London. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965)