Collected Short Stories, Vol. 2 Book

This is a review of Volume 2 of the 4 Volume collection.

I love Maugham's writing. I can think of no other writer who can so instantly transport you to another time and place - often to exotic locales and stories inhabited by a cast of fascinating characters in incompatible relationships or intriguing situations.

Here, there are twenty-four stories which I would break up by saying four are top drawer excellent, a further six are very good, seven are merely fine, leaving just seven falling below par.

My top four would be 'Virtue' - a straightforward character study in which a woman leaves her husband for a younger man; 'Lord Mountdrago' - a character study of a Conservative politician who is haunted by the way he treated another politician; 'Footprints In The Jungle' - Who killed a woman's first husband? Typically wonderful characters and setting from Maugham, but with the addition of a crime element; and lastly my favourite here, 'The Human Element' - great characters, atmosphere and setting in a story in which a man tries to win over a beautiful woman.

Then there are the six stories I would label very good. 'The Vessel Of Wrath' - character story with an isolated island atmosphere, about a man-hating woman; 'The Alien Corn' - a long but fine story, again with clearly defined characters, in which the son of a rich father wants to go against the family wishes and become a pianist; 'The Treasure' - a character and class study in which a man employs the perfect housekeeper, but then something happens; 'The Colonel's Lady' - another character/class study in which a colonel is mystified, then horrified at the success of his wife's book; 'The Round Dozen' - the first scene-setting half is better than the second, but this is still an interesting tale of a man meeting three others at a hotel, one of whom is rather odd and has a secret; and finally there's 'Jane' - a straightforward and finely told story of a dowdy woman who marries a much younger man to the disgust of her friend.

Note. Two of these stories ('The Alien Corn' and 'The Colonel's Lady') appeared in the film Quartet (1948), which was one of three such films made at the time - Quartet (1950) and Encore (1951) being the others. All three of these are very enjoyable and worth viewing.

Volume 2 is up to the standards of the first. The only two stories I cared nothing for are both very short - 'The Man With The Scar' and 'A Friend In Need.'