The Sacred Flame

W(illiam) Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) British playwright, novelist, and short-story writer, who in 1908 had four plays running simultaneously in the West End, a record at that time. The plays were Lady Frederick at the Court Theatre, Jack Straw at the Vaudeville Theatre, Mrs Dot at the Comedy Theatre, and The Explorer at the Lyric Theatre. His work was noted for its clear style, solid construction, and shrewd perception of human nature. Between 1898 and 1933 Maugham wrote 27 plays; the first to be produced was Man of Honour in 1904. His successes included Our Betters (1917), a satire on US social-climbers, Home and Beauty (1919), The Circle (1921), East of Suez (1922), The Constant Wife (1926), and the anti-war play For Services Rendered (1932). After the comparative failure of Sheppey, directed by Gielgud in 1933, Maugham decided that he had lost touch with public taste and gave up writing for the theatre. Several of his short stories have been adapted by others for the stage, notably Miss Thompson, dramatized as Rain (1922) by John Colton and Clemence Randolph.