Today we remember W. Somerset Maugham for Of Human Bondage, The Razor’s Edge and The Painted Veil. But there was another Somerset Maugham—one of the most successful playwrights of his generation, a writer who once had four plays running simultaneously in London’s West End.
In this Chesterton Radio Deep Dive, we rediscover Maugham through the medium that may suit him better than almost any other: radio.
From The Circle, The Tenth Man and The Sacred Flame to The Letter, The Narrow Corner, Our Betters and Home and Beauty, Maugham created worlds in which conversation is action. Behind the polished manners and drawing-room wit are marriages in trouble, concealed desires, money, ambition, hypocrisy, murder, sacrifice—and secrets waiting for someone to say the wrong thing.
We also explore the remarkable radio afterlife of Maugham through BBC Saturday Night Theatre, Lux Radio Theatre, Ford Theatre and Screen Guild Theater, with performers including Bette Davis, Ronald Colman, Ida Lupino, Ray Milland, Vincent Price, Herbert Marshall, Lucille Ball, Bob Hope and Frank Sinatra.
And one question runs through it all:
Why does Somerset Maugham sound so extraordinarily good on radio?
Perhaps the answer is simple.
Take away the scenery. Put two people in a room. Give them a secret.
And turn on the microphone.
Somerset Maugham takes care of the rest.
A Chesterton Radio Deep Dive
Explore the complete collection of Maugham radio dramas accompanying this episode at Chesterton Radio.
