The Escape and Other Stories

Maugham takes us from England to France, to Chicago and to the beautiful island of Tahiti.Roger Charing is engaged to marry Ruth, but he changes his mind. We read how he makes his clever Escape. Many men fell in love with Louise. But she is selfish and uses her poor health to live as she plesaes. In the Ant and the Grasshopper, George and Tom are brothers. One works hard and is unahppy. The other is lazy but enjoy his life. Romance on the Pacific island of Tahiti leads to the Fall of Edward Barnard.

William Somerset maugham is one of the most famous British writers. Maugham was born in Paris in 1874. He studied medicine to become a doctor. His first book, called Lisa of Lambeth, was published in 1896. It was successful and many copies were sold. Maugham decided not to work as a doctor, but to be a writer instead. He wrote a great number of books and plays. And many of his stories were about the people he met on his travels all over the world. Maugham became a rich man. 80 million copies of his books were sold while he was alive. Somerset Maugham died in Cap Ferrat, France, on 16th December 1965. He was 91 years old.

A Note About the Author 5
The ESCAPE 7
LOUISE 17
THE ANT AND THE GRASSHOPPER 27
THE FALL OF EDWARD BARNARD 37
Points for Understanding 57
List of titles by W. Somerset Maugham 62