Of Human Bondage Author: [British] William Somerset Maugham Publisher: China Federation of Literary and Art Circles Press

Introduction
The protagonist Kaili lost both his parents when he was young. Unfortunately, he was born with a disability and spent his childhood in an indifferent and unfamiliar environment, which made him lonely and sensitive. When he entered society, he experienced pain in love. On the bumpy road of life, he had to struggle hard every step he took. He has been trying to break free from the shackles of religion and petty bourgeois consciousness that imprisoned his spirit, trying to seek the true meaning of life in the chaotic vortex of life.
About the Author
William Somerset Maugham was born in Paris on January 25, 1874. His father was a lawyer who worked at the British Embassy in France. When Maugham was less than ten years old, his parents died one after another, and he was sent back to England to be raised by his uncle. After Maugham entered the Royal School of Canterbury, he was often bullied and tortured by older children because of his short stature and severe stuttering, and sometimes he was unreasonably humiliated by pedants. The lonely and desolate childhood life cast a painful shadow on his young heart, and cultivated his lonely, sensitive and introverted personality. His childhood experience had a profound impact on his world view and literary creation.
In early 1892, he went to Heidelberg University in Germany to study for a year. There, he was exposed to the philosophical thoughts of German philosopher Kuno Fischer and the new drama trend represented by Ibsen. In the same year, he returned to England and worked as an intern in a London accounting firm for six weeks, and then entered St. Thomas' Medical School in London to study medicine. The five-year medical career not only gave him the opportunity to understand the living conditions of the lower classes, but also taught him to look at life and society with a cold and sharp gaze like a scalpel. His first novel, Lisa of Lambeth, was written based on what he saw and heard during his medical internship.
From 1897, Maugham gave up medicine and devoted himself to literary creation. In the next few years, he wrote several novels, but, in Maugham's own words, none of them could "set the Thames on fire." He turned to drama creation and achieved success, becoming a popular playwright. Four of his plays were performed on the London stage at the same time. His tenth play, "Mrs. Frederick," was performed continuously for a year. This unprecedented grand occasion is said to be comparable only to the famous playwright George Bernard Shaw. But the bitter past, like a nightmare, accumulated in his heart, not allowing him a moment of peace, and increasingly demanded him to perform and create. He decided to temporarily interrupt his drama creation and spend two years concentrating on writing the long-brewing novel "Of Human Bondage."
During the First World War, Maugham first rescued the wounded in Belgium, and then worked in the British intelligence department, and went to Switzerland, Russia and the Far East. This experience provided material for his later spy novel "Eshenden". After the war, he revisited the Far East and the South Pacific Islands; in 1920, he went to China and wrote a volume "China Travel Notes". In 1928, Maugham settled in the Riviera on the Mediterranean coast, and did not leave hastily until the Nazi invasion in 1940.
The interval between the two world wars was the period when Maugham was most energetic in his creation. In the 1920s and early 1930s, he wrote a series of works that exposed the intrigues, scheming, moral depravity and satire of the upper class, such as "What Goes Around Comes Around", "People Nobler Than Us" and "The Faithful Wife". These three plays are recognized as the best of Maugham's plays. "Sheppey", completed in 1933, is his last play. Maugham's plays have compact and tortuous plots, fierce and reasonable conflicts; the characters are not written in much detail but the images are vivid and prominent; the dialogues are vivid and natural, and the humor is witty, which makes people feel fresh and powerful. But in general, the depth of content and character portrayal is not as good as his long and short stories, although his novels are not profound either. Important novels of this period include: The Moon and Sixpence, which reflects the constraints of modern Western civilization and the strangulation of artists' personality and creation; Pleasure Hunt, which depicts the ridiculous and despicable phenomena in the literary world at that time; and The Tremor of a Leaf, a collection of short stories with the background of the British Empire's eastern colonies and full of exotic atmosphere. Short stories occupy an important position in Maugham's creative activities. His short story style is similar to that of Maupassant, with a rigorous structure, natural transitions, concise language, and a pleasant narration. The writer tried his best to avoid expressing opinions in his works, but through clever artistic treatment, let the characters show their inner character in the process of plot development.
During World War II, Maugham went to the United States and stayed in South Carolina, New York and Vineyard Island for six years. In 1944, he published the novel "The Razor's Edge". In this work, the author tried to reveal the conflict between spirit and pragmatism through the story of a young man's search for the philosophy of life. After the novel was published, it received a strong response, especially among the British and American active servicemen who were in the war at that time.
In 1946, Maugham returned to the French Riviera. In 1948, he wrote his last novel, Catalina. After that, he limited himself to writing memoirs and literary reviews, and sorting out his old works. Maugham enjoyed a high reputation in his later years. Oxford University in the UK and Toulouse University in France respectively awarded him the prestigious title of "Knight of the Legion of Honor". On January 25 of the same year, the famous Garrick Literary Club in the UK held a banquet to celebrate his 80th birthday; in the history of British literature, only three writers, Dickens, Thackeray and Trollope, have received such courtesy. In 1961, his alma mater, Heidelberg University in Germany, awarded him the title of Honorary Director.
On December 15, 1965, Maugham died in the French Riviera at the age of 91. His ashes were buried in the Royal School of Canterbury. After his death, the famous Yale University in the United States established an archive in his memory.