W. Somerset Maugham (25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English writer. He achieved national celebrity as a playwright; by 1908 he had four plays running simultaneously in London's West End. After 1933 he concentrated on novels and short stories. His popularity provoked adverse reactions from highbrow critics, and many belittled him as merely competent. More recent assessments generally rank Of Human Bondage as a masterpiece, and his short stories are held in high critical regard. Maugham's plain prose became known for its lucidity, but his reliance on clichés attracted adverse critical commentary. During World War I Maugham worked for the British Secret Service, later drawing on his experiences for stories published in the 1920s. He married Syrie Wellcome in 1917, and they had a daughter, Liza. However, his principal partner was Gerald Haxton; after Haxton's death, Alan Searle became Maugham's secretary and companion. Maugham gave up writing novels after World War II and died in 1965.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._Somerset_Maugham

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1944:

Representatives of the Chetnik movement began a four-day congress to organise political opposition to the Allied support of the communist-led Yugoslav Partisans in Yugoslavia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ba_Congress

1971:

Idi Amin seized power from Ugandan president Milton Obote in a coup d'état, beginning eight years of military rule. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1971_Ugandan_coup_d%27%C3%A9tat

1993:

Pakistani national Mir Aimal Kansi shot five people outside the Central Intelligence Agency headquarters in Langley, Virginia, killing two. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CIA_headquarters_shooting

2011:

The Egyptian revolution began with protests (protester pictured) on the "Day of Anger", eventually leading to the removal of President Hosni Mubarak after nearly 30 years of rule. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_Egyptian_revolution_of_2011

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

epistle: 1. A literary composition in the form of a letter or series of letters, especially one in verse. 2. (chiefly literary or humorous) A letter, especially one which is formal or issued publicly. 3. (specifically, historical) Chiefly with a qualifying word, as in epistle dedicatory: a letter of dedication addressed to a patron or reader published as a preface to a literary work. 4. (Christianity) 5. One of the books of the New Testament which was originally a letter issued by an apostle to an individual or a community. 6. An extract from a New Testament epistle (sense 3.1) or book other than a gospel which is read during a church service, chiefly the Eucharist. 7. (transitive) 8. (chiefly literary or humorous) To write (something) in, or in the form of, a letter. 9. (chiefly literary or humorous, archaic) To write a letter to (someone). 10. (rare) To write (something) as an introduction or preface to a literary work; also, to provide (a literary work) with an introduction or preface. 11. (intransitive, chiefly literary or humorous) 12. To write a letter. 13. To communicate with someone through a letter. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/epistle

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

What mean and cruel things men can do for the love of God.   --W. Somerset Maugham https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/W._Somerset_Maugham