W. Somerset Maugham, Of Human Bondage

Chris Baldick (Goldsmiths College, University of London)

Ed. by Chris Baldick, Goldsmiths College, University of London
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.08: English Writing and Culture of the early Twentieth Century , 1900-1945.
Vol. editors: Chris Baldick (Goldsmiths College, University of London), Peter Childs (Birmingham Newman University), Louise McDonald (Birmingham Newman University), Andrew Radford (University of Glasgow)

Dates

First circulation or publication Aug 1915

Places

England (Country of Origin)
United States (Publication/ performance)

Genres and Modes

Novel
- Bildungsroman

Resources

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W. Somerset Maugham wrote twenty novels during his lengthy career, but

Of Human Bondage

(1915) is the most ambitious, most vividly realised and most widely appreciated of those. It is a long semi-autobiographical work in the

Bildungsroman

(education-novel) tradition, which follows the progress of its protagonist, Philip Carey, from childhood through adolescent crises to his adjustments to adult life. In this it is comparable with other English coming-of-age novels of the period such as Arnold Bennett’s

Clayhanger

(1910) and D. H. Lawrence’s

Sons and Lovers

(1913). Its distinctive feature is that in its central episodes it becomes a story of obsession, in which Philip’s prospects are almost wrecked by his infatuation with a young waitress, Mildred Rogers, under whose inexplicable…

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1959 words

Citation: Baldick, Chris. "Of Human Bondage". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 28 May 2020 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=11443, accessed 24 April 2024.]

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