The Making of a Saint
by W. Somerset Maugham 
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Immerse yourself in the mystery and intrigue of medieval Italy in this engrossing novel from W. Somerset Maugham, the author of such timeless classics as Of Human Bondage and The Razor's Edge. Though the action of the narrative recounts the way that Filippo Bandolini came to be recognized as a saint, the ups and downs of the protagonist's life clearly illustrate that the path to righteousness is not always an easy one..
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anonymous user Maugham's two historical novels set in Renaissance Italy - and published within 48 years of each other! A rare opportunity for a comparison that no serious admirer of Maugham should miss. The late novel, Maugham's penultimate one actually, has a few dull descriptions of the political background, yet the plot, the writing and the characterisation are vastly superior to his youthful attempt along the same lines (his second novel actually, published when he was 24 years old).
Member Reviews
A fairly quick read.....Maugham's second novel, one he himself was never fond of later in his career. A relatively simple swashbuckling Italian drama adventure.....one full of lots of wanton death and destruction, revealing this to be an apparent normal state of affairs for this late 1400's Italian time period of conquest, swordplay and defending honor. It was apparently based on an actual event, and it highlights that no matter how unpleasant our world can sometimes seem today, we've come a long way!! Some sappier romantic distractions occur and the overwhelming lighthearted tone of this somewhat violent story felt a little disjointed for me now and then. Overall, no complaints.
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The Novels of W. Somerset Maugham
22 works; 2 members
Author Information
709+ Works 46,777 Members
Writer William Somerset Maugham was born in Paris on January 25, 1874. He attended St. Thomas's Medical School in London. A prolific writer, Maugham produced novels, short stories, plays, and an autobiographical novel, "Of Human Bondage." Although he remains popular for his novels and short stories, when he was alive his plays, now dated, were show more also popular, and in 1908 four of his plays ran simultaneously. Maugham died in Nice, France, on December 16, 1965. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
W. Somerset Maugham has a Legacy Library. Legacy libraries are the personal libraries of famous readers, entered by LibraryThing members from the Legacy Libraries group.
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Making of a Saint
- Original title
- The Making of a Saint
- Original publication date
- 1898-05-31
- People/Characters
- Filippo Brandolini; Checco d'Orsi; Matteo d'Orsi; Caterina Sforza; Girolamo Riario; Ercole Piacentini (show all 13); Claudia Piacentini; Giulia dall'Aste; Lorenzo de' Medici; Pico Della Mirandola; Lodovico Sforza; Savello; Bartolomeo Moratini
- Important places
- Forli, Emilia-Romagna, Italy; Florence, Tuscany, Italy
- Important events
- Siege of Forli (1488)
- Epigraph
- Quanto e bella giovinezza,
Che si fugge tuttavia;
Chi vuol esser lieto, sia,
Di doman non c'e certezza.
Youth – how beautiful is youth!
But, alas, elusive ever!
Let him be light of heart who would be s... (show all)o,
For there's no surety in the morrow. - First words
- These are the memoirs of the Beato Giuliano, brother of the Order of St Francis of Assisi, known in his worldly life as Filippo Brandolini; of which family I, Giulo Brandolini, am the last descendant.
- Original language
- English
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 48
- Popularity
- 627,829
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.50)
- Languages
- English, Estonian, Swedish
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 27
- ASINs
- 9
