Cakes and Ale by W. Somerset Maugham.
1st Vintage International ed., c1930, 2000. 308 pages.
Inspired by KMJ's astonishing childhood encounter with an ubiquitous English playwright, novelist, and short story writer, The Cellar Door Book Society turns its attentions to W. Somerset Maugham and his wonderfully-titled classic, Cakes and Ale. We engage in animated discussion regarding the vagaries of life and rail travel. We ask ourselves: what are the odds of happening upon an esteemed and highly compensated literary legend dans un moment de toilette flagrante on a European passenger train?
Later, we meet Maugham's Alroy Kear, a vaguely adrift writer commissioned to pen a charitable biography of British literary legend Edward Driffield. Kear, unfortunately, finds himself in a bit of an authorial quandary when he uncovers the story of Driffield's less-than-respectable first wife, Rosie. Therein lies the tale-- and the ale.
