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Portrait image of W. Somerset Maugham Photo: 1929 Bassano/Camera Press / TT

Sample of authors

Maugham, W. Somerset

William Somerset Maugham was a British author born in Paris. His father was a lawyer at the British Embassy there. When Maugham was eight years old, his mother died of tuberculosis, two years later his father died of cancer and the boy was sent to live with his uncle, the Vicar of Whitstable in Kent. Maugham suffered from a serious stammer, he was shy and avoided speaking in public; unlike his...

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Literary figures

Willie Garvin

Gender: Male

The orphaned Willie Garvin ran away from an English children’s home when he was 14 years old. He became an international vagabond and supported himself as a Thai boxer when the leader of a criminal gang, Modesty Blaise, became aware of him. He became her trusted companion even after they had left their criminal life behind them, and instead work for the British Secret Service in the books by P...

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