Tan Twan Eng’s third novel, which was longlisted for the 2023 Booker Prize, is set in the early 1920s, when the British writer William Somerset Maugham and his secretary (and lover) Gerald Haxton visit the coastal province of Penang, Malaysia, as the guests of Lesley and Robert Hamlyn.

The year is 1921. Lesley Hamlyn and her husband, Robert, a lawyer and war veteran, are living at Cassowary House on the Straits Settlement of Penang. When “Willie” Somerset Maugham, a famed writer and old friend of Robert's, arrives for an extended visit with his secretary Gerald, the pair threatens a rift that could alter more lives than one. I liked some of his stories,’ said Helena. ‘But “Rain”’ – she made a face – ‘I’ll never forget that one.’An angry, powerful book seething with love and outrage for a community too often stereotyped or ignored. The Telegraph values your comments but kindly requests all posts are on topic, constructive and respectful. Please review our Tan Twan Eng’s novel The House of Doors makes an undeniably compelling tale out of one of the 20th century’s greatest political convulsions, while mixing it with a piece of literary history that is just as complex and beguiling. William Somerset Maugham’s short stories are still popular today, but his initial popularity in literary London relied much on his travels to Asia and the Far East in the Twenties. You may also opt to downgrade to Standard Digital, a robust journalistic offering that fulfils many user’s needs. Compare Standard and Premium Digital here. I can certainly see some things that Tan Twan Eng tried to do. For example, it doesn't really surprise me that a book about 'Willie' Somerset Maugham isn't actually about him or only about him. This happens in a lot of his own books. He's the author who, no matter how interesting a character he is, needs to find another story to tell.

The House of Doors is a masterful novel, based on real events, exploring love, betrayal, public morality and private truth under the shadow of Empire," the synopsis reads. "It is 1921 and at Cassowary House in the Straits Settlements of Penang, Robert Hamlyn is a well-to-do lawyer and his steely wife Lesley a society hostess. Their lives are invigorated when Willie, an old friend of Robert’s, comes to stay. The House of Doors" by Tan Twan Eng is a literary masterpiece that effortlessly transports readers to a bygone era. Eng's prose paints languid images of muggy days in colonial Malaysia, setting a stark contrast to the hedonistic world of parties and clubs enjoyed by the English elite. The writing is remarkably evocative, skillfully capturing the essence of time and place, making it feel as though one is right there, amidst the sweltering heat and colonial tensions. For cost savings, you can change your plan at any time online in the “Settings & Account” section. If you’d like to retain your premium access and save 20%, you can opt to pay annually at the end of the trial. This is, indeed, a novel of many doors – perhaps a couple too many. The title refers to the literal kind: the ancient Chinese doors collected by the revolutionary Chinese lover of Lesley Hamlyn, Somerset Maugham’s fictional English host, and stored in the house in downtown Penang in which the couple meet.

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Attempting to offer up a more detail book report here….but be clear ….the best thing I can say to others is “just read it!!!” In The House of Doors we meet Lesley and her husband - two expats living a pampered life who welcome a visitor, the famous author W."Willie" Somerset Maugham. Willie arrives with his secretary lover Gerald and in his two weeks stay upend the status quo, Ugaz’s case is all too familiar in Peru, where powerful groups regularly use the courts to silence journalists by fabricating criminal allegations against them.’ From the bestselling, Booker Prize-shortlisted author of The Garden of Evening Mists, a spellbinding novel about love and betrayal, colonialism and revolution, storytelling and redemption.

Other famous individuals are in the novel including the Chinese national Dr. Sun Yat Sen, Maugham, while fighting demons of his own proves to be an excellent listener and he takes in many of the secrets of his hosts. How perfectly this house of doors seemed to reflect the story being told. No direct way through it but one that is navigating step by step. The heart of the story is told by Lesley each evening in retrospect as she tells it to Maugham over their evening drinks alone in the garden. She reveals secrets no one else has ever known and the reader listens along with Maugham to her beautiful but heart-breaking story. Book Genre: Asia, Asian Literature, Fiction, Historical, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Literature

I am always excited about a book that's about real people, and Eng's newest is a book about W. Somerset Maugham. It helps that I'm already a fan of Maugham's work and have read four or five of his novels, I don't know what this would read like if you haven't read any of his work or know much about him; but I tell a lie, because the book isn't really about Maugham at all. I begin with the main characters. I work out what is it that they are seeking. I always know the ending, although getting there is another matter entirely. With this novel, I even knew what the concluding sentence would be; every other word and sentence preceding it was directed, like an arrow fired from a bow, towards that final sentence. Quiet, lazy days on … the beach, that’s all I want,’ Willie said. ‘I’ve piles … of books to read, and Gerald hasn’t fully recovered yet. He needs his rest, lots … of it.’ Tan Twan Eng's new novel reads like a warm and quiet summer evening. Lesley Hamlyn and her husband Robert are a well-to-do white couple living in Penang in the 1920's when Robert's friend, the celebrated writer W. Somerset Maugham (whom they call Willie) comes to stay with them. The outwardly successful Maugham is in dire financial straits and knows he must write to keep his creditors at bay, so he looks to local society gossip for inspiration. As Willie spends more time talking to Lesley, he begins to suspect that she may have had an affair with Dr. Sun Yat-Sen, who had spent time in Penang over a decade ago when he was a revolutionary drumming up support to overthrow China's imperial dynasty. But as Lesley gradually reveals some of the secrets she's been keeping, Willie finds that the stories he gets from her are not at all the ones he expected to find. If you do nothing, you will be auto-enrolled in our premium digital monthly subscription plan and retain complete access for 65 € per month.

Willie opened the lids of the chafing dishes. Kippers and bacon and sausages and eggs and toast, as he had expected. There were also plates of cheeses and bowls of local fruit – bananas and mangoes and starfruit. He filled only half his plate and sat down at the table. Tan Twan Eng was born in Penang, Malaysia, and worked as an advocate in one of Kuala Lumpur's leading law firms before becoming a full-time writer. Change the plan you will roll onto at any time during your trial by visiting the “Settings & Account” section. What happens at the end of my trial? Set in two main time lines, in tropical Penang and KL a woman reveals a story of her past to William Somerset MauIn the 20's Maugham was an actual well known author and this story is based on many of the truths of his life. An additional focus of the story is that of Lesley's friend Ethel who is incarcerated after she shoots a man attempting to rape her. s Penang is where we meet our protagonist Lesley Hamlyn. Her husband Robert is a lawyer, and it’s fair to say that they live a very comfortable life, mixing in the very highest circles. This is a fascinatingly layered novel, drawing upon a range of different modes and themes – patriarchy, political turmoil, illicit love affairs and concealed sexuality – with a courtroom drama (based upon real events, which also inspired Maugham’s story ‘The Letter’) at the heart of it. The book is Tan’s first since the publication of the Booker-shortlisted The Garden of Evening Mists in 2012, and like its predecessor it moves between different time periods while immersing us in the history of 20th-century British Malaya. A particularly compelling strand of the story involves the arrival of the Chinese political thinker (and future leader) Sun Yat Sen, who plans his revolution from Penang. The scenes centred on his underground political party, the Tong Meng Hui, present an invigorating contrast to those featuring high-society parties. Lesley is fascinated by Sun’s blistering speech-making: ‘I felt that he was binding all of us to a covenant, a covenant for a future he would sacrifice everything for, even his life, to bring into existence.’ PDF / EPUB File Name: The_House_of_Doors_-_Tan_Twan_Eng.pdf, The_House_of_Doors_-_Tan_Twan_Eng.epub Twilight was dissolving the mountains. I pulled my shawl closer around my shoulders. ‘He probably found us,’ I said, giving just the briefest of glances at Robert, ‘to be the most boring married couple he’d ever met.’