Maugham completed the writing of Liza of Lambeth during his final year of medical school. The publication of this novel brought him enough money and notoriety that he decided to abandon thoughts of a career as a doctor (he qualified but never practiced) and instead make his way as a full-time writer. The novel itself is the story of a young girl, Liza, living in the Lambeth slums of London. The details of the novel are rich and evocative, much of the material inspired by the people and events Maugham encountered while he was a medical student practicing mid-wifery in the same area.
Liza Of Lambeth (Vintage Classics)
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"One of the most interesting and least patronising accounts of cockney life in the late 19th century" (The Times)
"A picture of such squalor and deprivation that it caused an uproar and made Maugham famous" (Sunday Times)
"He evolved a quality possessed only by master story-tellers - that of making the reader greedy for more" (Economist)
"He shrewdly spun the raw material of human suffering into a brutal tale. Maugham pushed the limits of acceptability and gained a following for it" (Washington Times) --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
"A picture of such squalor and deprivation that it caused an uproar and made Maugham famous" (Sunday Times)
"He evolved a quality possessed only by master story-tellers - that of making the reader greedy for more" (Economist)
"He shrewdly spun the raw material of human suffering into a brutal tale. Maugham pushed the limits of acceptability and gained a following for it" (Washington Times) --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.
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A tale of passionate love affair within the vividly realistic portrayal of 19th century working-class London life by the neglected 20th century master.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Sommerset Maugham' first novel, "Liza of Lambeth" (1897) portrays the life of the working class in the famous London area of Lambeth. I read the book after reading another novel set in Lambeth, George Gissing's "Thyrza", written in 1887 and describing a doomed love affair between a young working class woman, Thyrza Trent, and her would-be suitor, the well-to-do Walter Egremont. Thyrza Maugham was an admirer of Gissing. The two novels, both products of the late Nineteenth Century, were written ten years apart, with settings also roughly ten years apart. It was fascinating to reflect upon their similarities and differences.
Lambeth and its inhabitants are recognizably similar in both "Thyrza" and "Liza of Lambeth" as the two authors both had an intimate knowledge of the streets. Gissing spent hours walking the Lambeth streets while Maugham was an intern in a Lambeth hospital when he wrote his book. Both writers bring a sense of realism to their description of working class life. But the two novels could not be more different in style. Gissing wrote a long Victorian three-decker full of characters and subplots and written in his own personal and extended narrative voice. In contrast, "Liza of Lambeth" is short, focused, and easy to read. Maugham writes in a more detached voice than does his predecessor. In its manner of presentation, Maugham's book is, much more than Gissing's, a modern novel.
Both Maugham and Gissing take a woman for their major character. Gissing's is the idealized Thyzra, just short of 17 when the book begins, while Maugham's is the far more earthy Liza Kemp. As is Thyrza, Liza has a harsh job of drudgery in a Lambeth factory.... Read more ›
Lambeth and its inhabitants are recognizably similar in both "Thyrza" and "Liza of Lambeth" as the two authors both had an intimate knowledge of the streets. Gissing spent hours walking the Lambeth streets while Maugham was an intern in a Lambeth hospital when he wrote his book. Both writers bring a sense of realism to their description of working class life. But the two novels could not be more different in style. Gissing wrote a long Victorian three-decker full of characters and subplots and written in his own personal and extended narrative voice. In contrast, "Liza of Lambeth" is short, focused, and easy to read. Maugham writes in a more detached voice than does his predecessor. In its manner of presentation, Maugham's book is, much more than Gissing's, a modern novel.
Both Maugham and Gissing take a woman for their major character. Gissing's is the idealized Thyzra, just short of 17 when the book begins, while Maugham's is the far more earthy Liza Kemp. As is Thyrza, Liza has a harsh job of drudgery in a Lambeth factory.... Read more ›
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Liza of Lambeth is W Somerset Maugham's first published novel. The story records the life of a young eighteen year old girl who lives with her mother (Mrs Kemp) in the slums of Lambeth. She is seen as the life and soul of her street, being held in high regard by all her friends and neighbours and is much-loved by Tom, a local resident. However, changing events contrive to change her life irrevocably. The arrival of a new family to the street and Liza's attraction to the father soon create a recipe for disaster.
Even though this is Somerset Maugham's first published novel the storyline move along at a nice pace, keeping the reader engaged throughout the novel to the dramatic climax. Another feature I enjoyed was the author's use of the local vernacular for the conversations between the main characters. In fact some of the exchanges between Liza and her mother are very amusing and give the reader some light relief amid the main storyline.
As this novel is approximately 140 pages long I feel it is a good place to start if you are unfamiliar with the author. W Somerset Maugham has written prolifically so if you enjoy this one and want to try some of his longer novels there are plenty more titles to choose from. He has also written many collections of short stories.
Even though this is Somerset Maugham's first published novel the storyline move along at a nice pace, keeping the reader engaged throughout the novel to the dramatic climax. Another feature I enjoyed was the author's use of the local vernacular for the conversations between the main characters. In fact some of the exchanges between Liza and her mother are very amusing and give the reader some light relief amid the main storyline.
As this novel is approximately 140 pages long I feel it is a good place to start if you are unfamiliar with the author. W Somerset Maugham has written prolifically so if you enjoy this one and want to try some of his longer novels there are plenty more titles to choose from. He has also written many collections of short stories.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By Jen P
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Clearly an early novel, and rather sentimental, but the picture of Lambeth early in the last century is convincing: Maugham had worked there as a medical student. His constant attempt to reproduce cockney speech is irritating, but this is a quick, enjoyable read, not to be over-criticised.
By S.M. Johnson
Format:Paperback
This was Maugham's first novel although he had written plays before. In a way this novel is written very like play. The setting is the slums of Lambeth which Maugham had spent time in when a medical student. We get a sense of the of overcrowding - Jim Blakeston takes two rooms because he and his wife have five children. Liza and her mother share the same bed. People sit on their communal doorsteps and the children play cricket in the street with a stick and cloth ball. It is all accepted as being normal. The love story takes place in this rather grim setting. Two events which are particularly clearly described is the day trip to Chingford in the Red Lion brake and then the cat fight between Liza and Mrs. Blakeston towards the end of the book. There is a lot of dialogue, strangly written to try to show the accent of these people. Difficult to read, but it was the fashion of the time. Mary Webb does it in her books. So Liza of Lambeth was a huge success when it was first published and set Maugham on his career as a novelist.
Format:Paperback
If you have never read Somerset Maugham then this is probably a good place to start, if for no other reason than, nineteenth century London idiom aside, it is very easy to read. The story is simple; Liza is in her late teens and lives just south of Westminster Bridge in the fictitious Vere Street. She is pretty, rather vain and endearingly vivacious. She is courted by the good natured Tom who devotes himself wholeheartedly to her and to her happiness. The wilful Liza, however, finds Tom rather dreary and seeks diversion in the company of a much older, married man Jim Blakestone with whom she embarks in an affair. Jim entertains Liza away from Lambeth on the more glamorous north bank of the Thames and for a time, during the hot Victorian summer, all is well in Liza's world. With the coming of winter however, the excitement begins to fade and gradually, inevitably their secret becomes known to too many people in their close-knit community, including, dangerously, to Blakeston's wife.
Maugham describes the unravelling of the doomed relationship as convincingly as he depicts its emergence. We know from later works , such as Of Human Bondage (1915)and The Painted Veil (1925) that he was deeply interested in human relationships, in what attracts, what binds and what repels one person to or from another and here, whilst the prose is much less sophisticated than in those later works, you get a clear sense of his desire to explore these elements. Liza is a fully-formed sexual being, full of love and hate and passion and remorse.... Read more ›
Maugham describes the unravelling of the doomed relationship as convincingly as he depicts its emergence. We know from later works , such as Of Human Bondage (1915)and The Painted Veil (1925) that he was deeply interested in human relationships, in what attracts, what binds and what repels one person to or from another and here, whilst the prose is much less sophisticated than in those later works, you get a clear sense of his desire to explore these elements. Liza is a fully-formed sexual being, full of love and hate and passion and remorse.... Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Liza's love in London
A tale of adulterous love between a feisty, fun-loving young woman and a charming but rough, married man, is the focus of W. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Mr. D Burin
4.0 out of 5 stars
a glimpse into an earlier time
I enjoyed this story of the spirited 18 year old Liza and what happens when she falls for the attractions of an older [married] man. Read more
Published on 20 April 2011 by Ms. K. J. Waghorn
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