William Somerset Maugham

British novelist and playwright. Born in Paris on January 25th, the youngest child of a father who was a legal adviser to the British Embassy in France. When he was eight years old, his mother died of tuberculosis, and two years later his father died of cancer, so he left Paris and was taken in by his uncle, a pastor in Kent, southern England. However, he could not speak English well, and had a speech impediment, and spent a miserable childhood, plagued by feelings of inferiority. He graduated from King's School in Canterbury, but refused his uncle's strong desire to go to Oxford University and become a priest, and went to Heidelberg University in Germany, where he experienced a free life for the first time in his life, reading Schopenhauer and watching modern plays such as Ibsen. However, he did not graduate from Heidelberg University, and returned to Japan and entered the medical school attached to St. Thomas' Hospital in London. He then attracted attention and began his career as a writer with his realistic novel "Liza of Lambeth" (1897), based on his experience working as a medical assistant in Lambeth, a slum in London. He then began writing plays, and after his play "Mrs. Frederick" (1907) became a hit, he was able to live comfortably and, without worrying about money, began working on his autobiographical novel "Human Bonds" (1915). During World War I, he worked in intelligence, and published a collection of short stories, "Spies" (1928), based on his experiences there.

After the First World War, The Moon and Sixpence (1919) sold at an unprecedented rate, and he continued to demonstrate his talent as a storyteller with the play A Tour (1919), Cakes and Beer (1930), which caused controversy for being based on Hardy and Hugh Walpole, The Theatre (1937), which depicts the lust of a middle-aged actress, The Razor's Edge (1944), which shows his interest in Oriental mysticism, and the historical novel Then and Now (1946), which has Machiavelli as the main character. In the field of short stories, since publishing his first collection in 1899, he has written many masterpieces with interesting themes and skillful structures, such as The Rain, The Red Hair, The Colonel's Wife, and The Kite. Other works include the autobiographical memoir In Brief (1938) and creative notes The Writer's Notebook (1949). He died on December 26, 1965 at the age of 91.

[Yutaka Seo]

"The Complete Works of Maugham, Vol. 31 and Supplementary Volume 2, translated by Nakano Yoshio et al. (1954-60, Shinchosha)" ▽ "Somerset Maugham, edited by Shumuta Natsuo (1966, Kenkyusha Publishing)" ▽ "W. Somerset Maugham and the Search for Freedom, written by Robert Calder, translated by Kitagawa Teiji (1976, Hokuseido Shoten)" ▽ "The Profiles of Somerset Maugham, written by Fujii Yoshihiko (1999, Eihosha)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

イギリスの小説家、劇作家。在仏イギリス大使館の顧問弁護士だった父の末子として1月25日パリに生まれる。8歳のとき母が肺結核で、2年後に父が癌(がん)で死んだので、パリを離れて南イングランドのケント県で牧師をしていた叔父に引き取られた。しかし、英語がうまくしゃべれず、おまけに言語障害もあり、劣等感に悩みながら、みじめな少年時代を送った。カンタベリーのキングズ・スクールを卒業したが、オックスフォード大学に進み聖職者になるようにという叔父の強い希望を拒否して、ドイツのハイデルベルク大学に行き、ショーペンハウアーを読んだりイプセンなどの近代劇を見たりなどして、生まれて初めて自由な生活を体験した。しかしハイデルベルク大学は卒業せずに帰国、ロンドンの聖トマス病院付属医学校に入った。そして助手としてロンドンの貧民窟(くつ)ランベスで医療に従事したときの経験をもとにした写実的な小説『ランベスのライザ』（1897）で注目されて作家生活に入った。その後戯曲も書き始め『フレデリック夫人』（1907上演）があたってからは生活に余裕ができて、金にあくせくすることなく自伝的長編『人間の絆(きずな)』（1915）にとりかかった。第一次世界大戦中は諜報(ちょうほう)関係の仕事につき、そのときの経験を材料にして短編集『スパイ物語』（1928）を発表している。

　第一次世界大戦後『月と六ペンス』（1919）が空前の売れ行きを示し、その後は戯曲『ひとめぐり』（1919）、ハーディとヒュー・ウォルポールをモデルにしたということで物議を醸した『お菓子とビール』（1930）、中年女優の愛欲を描いた『劇場』（1937）、東洋の神秘主義に関心を示した『剃刀(かみそり)の刃』（1944）、マキャベッリを主人公にした歴史小説『今も昔』（1946）などで、優れたストーリー・テラーの本領を発揮した。短編の分野でも、1899年に最初の短編集を出して以来、『雨』『赤毛』『大佐の奥方』『凧(たこ)』など、題材のおもしろさと巧みな構成の傑作が多い。そのほか自伝的回想記『要約すると』（1938）や創作メモ『作家の手帳』（1949）などがある。1965年12月26日、91歳で没した。

［瀬尾　裕］

『中野好夫他訳『モーム全集』31巻・別巻2（1954～60・新潮社）』▽『朱牟田夏雄編『サマセット・モーム』（1966・研究社出版）』▽『ロバート・コールダー著、北川悌二訳『W・サマセット・モームと自由の探求』（1976・北星堂書店）』▽『藤井良彦著『サマセット・モームの輪郭』（1999・英宝社）』

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