MAUGHAM, W. Somerset (1874—1965), English novelist, playwright, short-story writer, and essayist, whose immensely popular works during a career that spanned some 60 years made him an enormous fortune. One of his last novels, The Razor’s Edge (1944), alone sold several million copies. His best novel, however, is considered to be Of Human Bondage人生的枷锁 (1915).

W. 萨默塞特·毛姆（1874年至1965年），英国小说家，剧作家，短篇小说家和随笔家，他的作品广受欢迎，在长达60年的职业生涯中为其带来了巨大财富。他的小说之一《刀锋》（1944年），单独就卖出了几百万册。然而，他最著名的小说被认为是《人生的枷锁》（1915年）。

   Life.  The son of a diplomatic official, William Somerset Maugham was born in Paris on Jan. 25, 1874. He did not live in England until his tenth year, after the death of both parents. He then was reared by a vicar-uncle in Kent. A shy boy with a stammer, Maugham spent several unhappy years in English schools before studying for a time at the University of Heidelberg. He wanted to be a writer, but at the urging of his uncle he trained for a medical career at St. Thomas’s Hospital in London, completing his course in 1898 but never practicing medicine.

生平。一位外交官的儿子，威廉·萨默塞特·毛姆1874年1月25日生于巴黎。在父母去世后，直到10岁时他才回到英格兰生活。然后由在肯特郡的牧师叔叔抚养。一个腼腆，口吃的男孩，在海德堡大学学习的一段时间之前，毛姆在英语学校度过了不快乐的几年。他想成为一名作家，但在其叔叔的催促下，他在伦敦圣·托马斯医院为医学生涯接受了培训，于1898年完成了课程，但从未行医。

   Maugham published his first novel, Liza of Lambeth, in 1897, during his training. The victim of tuberculosis, he went to the south of France after his internship to recover his health and then lived mostly in Paris. He continued to write fiction but eventually turned to writing for the theater. Lady Frederick (1907) was his first success on the London stage.

    1897年，在进行医学培训期间，毛姆出版了他的第一部小说《兰贝斯的丽莎》。他患有结核病，在实习期结束后，他去了法国南部恢复身体，后来大部分时间都住在巴黎。他继续写作小说，但最终转向了创作戏剧。《弗雷德里克夫人》（1907年）是他在伦敦舞台上的首次成功。

   During World War I, Maugham served in an ambulance unit and later as an intelligence agent. In 1915 he married Lady Wellcome, a widow, by whom he had a daughter. The couple was divorced in 1927, and Maugham who was a homosexual, never remarried. In 1928 he bought the Villa Mauresque on Cap Ferrat on the French Riviera, where he entertained artistic and social celebrities. He died in St.-Jean-Cap-Ferrat on Dec. 16, 1965, and was buried in Canterbury, England.

    一次大战期间，毛姆曾在一个救护队服务，之后成为了一名情报人员。1915年他与一位寡妇，威尔卡姆女士结婚，他们育有一个女儿。1927年这对夫妇离婚，而身为同性恋的毛姆再也没有结婚。1928年他买下了位于法国里维埃拉费拉角带有摩尔风格的别墅，在那儿，他招待艺术和社会的名流。1965年12月16日，他在圣-让-费拉角去世，葬于英格兰的坎特伯雷。

   Work.  Maugham’s work seemed always to succeed with the public, but in his earlier years it was as a playwright that he attracted most attention. His witty, well-constructed plays, which amused and titillated sophisticated London and New York audiences, included The Circle (1921), Our betters (1923), and The Constant wife (1926).

    作品。毛姆的作品似乎总是受到公共的喜爱，但在他早期的几年中，他最引人关注的是作为一名剧作家。他诙谐、精心构思的戏剧逗乐并撩拨了见多识广的伦敦和纽约观众，包括《圈子》（1921年），《比我们高贵的人们》（1923年），以及《坚贞的妻子》（1926年）。

   In the 1930’s and 1940’s, Maugham concentrated on writing fiction, for which he is better known today. He had already published two important novels: Of Human Bondage and The Moon and sixpence (1919). The first, essentially autobiographical, recounts a club-footed man’s apprenticeship in art and medicine and his experiences in Heidelberg, Paris, and London. The second, based on Paul Gauguin’s career, is about a painter’s unconventional life. Maugham’s own favorite novel, Cakes and Ale (1930), presents a satiric view of the English literary life.

    在20世纪30年代和20世纪40年代，毛姆专心于写作小说，也因为小说，今天他更加出名。他曾经出版过两部重要的小说：《人生的枷锁》和《月亮与六便士》（1919年）。第一部小说，实质上是自传体的，叙述了在海德堡、巴黎和伦敦的一个跛脚男人在艺术和医学上的学徒生涯和经历。第二部小说，以保罗·高更的职业生涯为基础，讲述的是一个画家的非传统生活。毛姆自己最喜欢的小说《寻欢作乐》（1930年），展示出对英国文学生活的讽刺。

   Late in his career, Maugham turned to writing critical essay, including Points of View (1958), on Goethe, Henry James, Chekhov, and other author. He also published two autobiographical volumes: The Summing Up (1938) and A Writer’s Notebook (1949).

在他职业生涯的后期，毛姆转向了写作评论随笔，包括谈论歌德、亨利·詹姆斯、契诃夫和其他作者的《观点》（1958年），他还出版了两卷自传式的随笔：《总结》 (1938)和《一个作家的札记》（1949年）。

                                      JANIS RICHARDI

Coauthor of “The American Novel Through Henry James: A bibliography”

                              贾尼斯·理查蒂

              “通过亨利·詹姆斯看美国小说”的合作者

                                            2022年8月23日译

（译者注：该词条位列《大美百科全书》1985年版，第18卷，第518页）