Maugham himself admitted that literary invention was not his forte. Of his first novel, Liza of Lambeth, he remarked, "I was forced to stick to the truth by the miserable paucity of my imagination" (quoted iri Morgan,p.53). His technique was to observe carefully, take notes, and reproduce scenes that he had witnessed, even in works not openly autobiographical. Of Human Bondage was openly autobiographical. In his own preface to the novel, written many years after it had found success,Maugham wrote, "Fact and fiction are inextricably mingled: the emotions are my own, but not all the incidents are related as they happened....

One of the great novels of the twentieth century, Of Human Bondage tells a fascinating tale of sexual obsession. The story--taking its title from Spinoza’s Ethics: "Of human bondage, or the strength of the emotions"--follows Philip Carey in his search for freedom from the strict, oppressive Christian upbringing he suffered as an orphan in an English vicarage. Philip sets out on a journey of discovery that leads him to Heidelberg and to Paris. But it is back in London that Philip’s enthrallment with Mildred--the slatternly, pale waitress who makes him a slave to desire--awakens him to the world of obsessive love, deep passion, and true self-discovery,

The unforgettable love story is as timeless as it is involving; an intimate tale of human relationships that Theodore Dreiser called "a work of ,genius."