The Scandal of Syrie Maugham
McKnight, Gerald. The Scandal of Syrie Maugham. First Edition. 1980. Book and dust jacket are both in very good condition.
Had she been the type to surrender to adversity, Syrie Maugham could have been one of the tragic figures of the 20th Century. Men were rarely kind to her. A domineering first husband compelled her, while heavily pregnant, to ride a camel across the Sahara in scorching temperatures. And, that was relatively benevolent, considering how second husband Somerset Maugham behaved. Painstakingly researched, the book reveals Syrie’s decorating secrets and offers up many anecdotes not repeated elsewhere. With delightful ameos by Elsie de Wolfe and Sybil Colefax.
“Syrie Maugham has gone to India to paint the Black Hole of Calcutta white.”
--Lord Berners