W. Somerset Maugham (1874–1965)

Many years ago, my father used to read books by Somerset Maugham, but I was never aware of the greatness of his writing.

This is the first piece of his writing I have read.

Dr Audlin was a psycho-analyst with a special gift in that he could miraculously cure certain patients. Therefore many with insurmountable problems consulted him. But Dr A was a sceptic and felt he was a quack.

He tells us about Lord Mountdrago, who is Secretary for Foreign Affairs. He is a brilliant and eminently capable man.

He consults Dr A; his problem is he is having distressing dreams involving a Welsh MP called Griffiths. Lord M regularly sees this man in the House of Commons.

He makes a fool of himself in these dreams, which after all are only dreams, but when he encounters Griffiths in real life it seems that the latter witnesses what occurs in his dreams.

On one occasion Lord M hits G on the head with a bottle in dream, and the next day G says in the House of Commons that he has a bad headache as though he’d been cracked over the head with a bottle.

Ergo, G is physically affected by what happens to him in Lord M’s dreams.

Lord M realizes that G is dreaming his dreams.

He declares that if Dr A can’t do anything he will kill himself or G.

He imparts that he will kill G in a dream and no-one will know that he was the one who did it.

When pressed by Dr A, Lord M reveals that he has made a fool of G in the House and in front of G’s parents. He has ruined G’s career.

Dr A could not help Lord M. The terrible dreams continued night after night.

Finally, the doctor tells Lord M under hypnosis that he must apologize to G but Lord M refuses.

Dr A is waiting for Lord M to come to him but he is late.

Then he sees a huge headline in the evening paper; Tragic Death of Foreign Minister. He had been standing on the edge of the Tube platform and somehow fallen on to the rails.

But Dr A knows it was no accident,

Then Dr A sees a small paragraph in the newspaper reporting the sudden death of G; he had fallen ill and when taken to hospital was found to be dead.

So Lord M had done what he threatened, in some way killed G in a dream.

Dr A cancelled his next appointment.

“He seemed to envisage a black, a horrible void. The dark night of the soul engulfed him, and he felt a strange, primeval terror of he knew not what.”

Does Dr A feel that it is his fault because he was unable to cure Lord M?… (lisätietoja)

This novella is about a young widow in Florence in the late 1930s. It's beautifully written, and the descriptions of the city and surrounding countryside will make you want to visit (or re-visit, in my case) tout de suite. The action of the story surrounds Mary Panton and three men - her significantly older suitor who has known her since she was a girl; an impoverished violin player; and a ne'er-do-well gentleman attracted by Mary's beauty. I don't want to say too much, as I can't figure out how to do so without spoilers; suffice it to say, I enjoyed the read. I went into it knowing nothing about it and was surprised by the fast pace and gorgeous writing.

3.75 stars… (lisätietoja)