search.noResults

search.searching

dataCollection.invalidEmail
note.createNoteMessage

search.noResults

search.searching

orderForm.title

orderForm.productCode
orderForm.description
orderForm.quantity
orderForm.itemPrice
orderForm.price
orderForm.totalPrice
orderForm.deliveryDetails.billingAddress
orderForm.deliveryDetails.deliveryAddress
orderForm.noItems
Left: An LP of a Maugham Literary Reading Above: Winston Churchill with Somerset Maugham


night for you,’ they said. ‘Stop wasting our time.’ So I had to go to the back and start all over again. I’ll never forget the humiliation of that moment – with everyone staring at me.”


"I write only when inspiration strikes. Fortunately it strikes every morning at 9 o'clock sharp."


-Somerset Maugham


Surprisingly, there was only one instance in which the famed author sought treatment for his stuttering – and that was at age 66. He was hopeful for a “cure”. Due to repeated obligations to speak in public, which he could not avoid, Maugham consulted a Dr. Leahy, a hypnotist who treated many people who stuttered. During several sessions Leahy taught the writer a specific method of self-hypnosis, which over time began to work for him


to a point. He still stuttered in his everyday life, but was able to speak in public without stuttering at all, almost like he was acting and using a script. What he referred to as the “Leahy effect” wore off after a while, but Maugham always spoke highly of Leahy and credited his hypnosis with being responsible for both more fluency in front of audiences and a sense of confidence for public speaking.


Though Maugham once summed up his childhood by saying, “I was withdrawn and unhappy, and rejected most overtures of sympathy over my stuttering and shyness," he credited part of his success to his stutter. He cited his speech problem for forcing him to retreat into great books...which would eventually fuel his dazzling success as a writer. As his great works continue to stand the test of time, Somerset Maugham can still be regarded as the best writer of his day.


1 The Secret Lives of Somerset Maugham: A Biography by Selina Hastings 2 Somerset Maugham: A Life by Jeffrey Myers


29


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45