W. SOMERSET MAUGHAM was born in Paris in 1874. He trained as a doctor in London where he started writing his first novels. In 1926 he bought a house in Cap Ferrat, France, which was to become a meeting place for a number of writers, artists and politicians. He died in 1965.

About the Introducer: ABRAHAM VERGHESE is Professor and Vice Chair for the Theory and Practice of Medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine. The founding director of the Center for Medical Humanities & Ethics at the University of Texas Health Science Center, he is the author of My Own Country, a National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist; the critically acclaimed bestselling novel Cutting for Stone; and The Covenant of Water. Verghese received a National Humanities Medal from President Obama. He lives in Palo Alto, California.