Eclectic and illuminating,the essays collected in this volume were the last to be published by Somerset Maugham.Ranging from an appreciation of Goethe`s novels,to an encounter with an Indian holy man,criticism of three journalists,an evaluation of the plain prose of Dr Tillotson,and a considered analysis of the form at which Maugham himself excelled-the short story-they present the enduring views and opinions of this eminent writer.