Of Human Bondage (Autobiographical Novel) (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. A coming-of-age odyssey of a club-footed orphan seeking identity, art, and freedom from vicarage to Germany and beyondBy William Somerset Maugham
Length29h 59m
About this audiobook
Of Human Bondage is Somerset Maugham's great autobiographical novel of formation, tracing Philip Carey's painful movement from childhood deprivation and physical self-consciousness to artistic ambition, erotic humiliation, and moral self-knowledge. Written in lucid, unsentimental prose, the novel belongs to the tradition of the Bildungsroman while resisting easy consolation: its realism is sharpened by irony, psychological candor, and a modern skepticism toward religion, romance, and social respectability. Maugham drew deeply on his own life in shaping Philip's story. Orphaned young, raised by a clergyman uncle, medically trained at St Thomas's Hospital, and marked by a lifelong sense of outsiderhood, Maugham transformed personal wounds into disciplined fiction. Philip's clubfoot echoes Maugham's own stammer as a symbol of shame and isolation, while the novel's medical, artistic, and bohemian settings reflect the author's cosmopolitan education and emotional history. This is an essential book for readers interested in the tensions between desire and freedom, illusion and experience. Its power lies not in melodrama but in its steady accumulation of insight, making it especially rewarding for admirers of psychological realism, modernist-era fiction, and novels that confront the cost of becoming oneself.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- A succinct Introduction situates the work's timeless appeal and themes.
- The Synopsis outlines the central plot, highlighting key developments without spoiling critical twists.
- A detailed Historical Context immerses you in the era's events and influences that shaped the writing.
- An Author Biography reveals milestones in the author's life, illuminating the personal insights behind the text.
- A thorough Analysis dissects symbols, motifs, and character arcs to unearth underlying meanings.
- Reflection questions prompt you to engage personally with the work's messages, connecting them to modern life.
- Hand‐picked Memorable Quotes shine a spotlight on moments of literary brilliance.
- Interactive footnotes clarify unusual references, historical allusions, and archaic phrases for an effortless, more informed read.
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★ 4.2 (79.6K)
Includes Goodreads, LibraryThing, StoryGraph, Amazon
GenreLiterary Classics, General Fiction
Length29 hrs 59 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateApr 10, 2015
LanguageEnglish
W. Somerset Maugham: Novels, Short Stories, Plays & Travel Sketches (33 Titles In One Edition)William Somerset Maugham147h 12m4.5 (295)$1.99 · $0.00
The Trembling of a Leaf: Rain & Other South Sea StoriesWilliam Somerset Maugham9h 26m4.1 (2.5K)$1.99 · $0.00
The Trembling of a Leaf Collection – Rain & Other South Sea StoriesWilliam Somerset Maugham9h 28m4.2 (2.9K)$2.99 · $0.00
OF HUMAN BONDAGEWilliam Somerset Maugham29h 53m4.2 (82.9K)$1.99 · $0.00
The Trembling of a Leaf Collection – Rain & Other South Sea StoriesWilliam Somerset Maugham8h 27m4.2 (3K)$1.99 · $0.00
The Magician (Annotated)William Somerset Maugham9h 38m4.3 (1.1K)$2 · $0.00
The Explorer (Annotated)William Somerset Maugham10h 28m$2 · $0.00
Theatre (Annotated)William Somerset Maugham10h 48m$2 · $0.00
The Moon and Sixpence: One Man's Journey Across the Field of Art and into Its Depths (Annotated)William Somerset Maugham9h 54m$2 · $0.00
The Greatest Short Stories of W. Somerset Maugham (Annotated)William Somerset Maugham30h 49m$2 · $0.00
Collected Plays of W. Somerset Maugham (Annotated)William Somerset Maugham22h 14m4.6 (12)$2 · $0.00
Rain and Other South Sea Stories (The Trembling of a Leaf Collection) (Annotated)William Somerset Maugham9h 31m4.4 (11)$2 · $0.00
Of Human Bondage (Annotated)William Somerset Maugham30h$2 · $0.00
The Razor's Edge (Annotated)William Somerset Maugham14h 50m$2 · $0.00
The Painted Veil (Annotated)William Somerset Maugham9h 32m4.2 (1.4K)$2 · $0.00
The Merry-Go-Round (Annotated)William Somerset Maugham2h 59m4.1 (12)$2 · $0.00
The Essential Somerset Maugham: 33 Books in One Edition (Annotated)William Somerset Maugham147h 22m$2 · $0.00
The Land of the Blessed Virgin: Sketches and Impressions in Andalusia & On a Chinese Screen (Annotated)William Somerset Maugham12h$2 · $0.00
Mrs Craddock (Classic Unabridged Edition) (Annotated)William Somerset Maugham12h 34m3.9 (2K)$2 · $0.00
To Kill a MockingbirdHarper Lee12h 18m4.5 (7.4M)$29 · $0.00
These Precious DaysAnn Patchett11h 14m4.5 (45.2K)$29 · $0.00
Pride & Prejudice (Annotated)Jane Austen15h 10m4.7 (13.3K)$2 · $0.00
The Jeeves and Wooster Stories: The Complete Collection (33 Books)P. G. Wodehouse21h 57m4.7 (2.8K)$15 · $0.00
The Gulag Archipelago Volume 3Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn21h 56m4.7 (8.9K)$46 · $0.00
This Side of Paradise - The Original 1920 Edition (Annotated)F. Scott Fitzgerald11h 30m4.6 (1.6K)$2 · $0.00
The Great Gatsby: Original 1925 Edition (An F. Scott Fitzgerald Classic NovelFrancis Scott Fitzgerald4h 45m4.6 (9.3K)$18 · $0.00
The Complete Histories / History Plays of William Shakespeare (Annotated)William Shakespeare29h 42m4.6 (2.3K)$1.99 · $0.00
Braving the TruthRachel Held Evans11h 31m4.7 (359)$29 · $0.00
The Old Man and the Sea (Annotated)Ernest Hemingway4h 27m4.6 (1.4K)$2 · $0.00
Twelfth Night (The Unabridged Play) + The Classic Biography (Annotated)William Shakespeare, Sidney Lee16h 38m4.6 (1.4K)$2 · $0.00
Henry V (The Play, Historical Background and Analysis of the Character in the Play)William Shakespeare, William Hazlitt8h 50m4.6 (1.3K)$1.99 · $0.00
H. P. LOVECRAFT Ultimate Collection: Novellas, Short Stories, Poetry & Essays (Annotated)H. P. Lovecraft12h 28m4.6 (2.3K)$2 · $0.00
Time RegainedMarcel Proust16h 8m4.5 (10.6K)$1.99 · $0.00
Lessons in TruthH. Emilie3h 50m4.6 (1.4K)$4.70 · $0.00
TORAH - Bilingual Edition: English/Hebrew (Annotated)Max Margolis, JPS28h 26m4.6 (1K)$2 · $0.00
Betty Crocker picture cooky bookBetty Crocker, Inc. General Mills2h 13m4.5 (6.5K)$1 · $0.00
The Complete Tales of Beatrix PotterBeatrix Potter3h 36m4.5 (75K)$3 · $0.00
Anne of Green GablesL. M. Montgomery11h 1m4.5 (1.2M)$2.30 · $0.00
Crime and Punishment (The Unabridged Garnett Translation) (Annotated)Fyodor Dostoevsky24h 25m4.5 (15.4K)$1.99 · $0.00
WhistlerAnn Patchett10h 45m4.6 (4.6K)$29 · $0.00
Demon CopperheadBarbara Kingsolver21h 3m4.5 (949.4K)$46 · $0.00
To Kill a MockingbirdHarper Lee12h 18m4.5 (7.4M)$29 · $0.00
Remarkably Bright CreaturesShelby Van Pelt11h 17m4.4 (1.7M)$29 · $0.00
Desperate MeasuresBrenda Jackson8h 59m4.7 (670)$28 · $0.00
This Side of Paradise - The Original 1920 Edition (Annotated)F. Scott Fitzgerald11h 30m4.6 (1.6K)$2 · $0.00
War LordBernard Cornwell13h 21m4.6 (33.1K)$33 · $0.00
The Great Gatsby: Original 1925 Edition (An F. Scott Fitzgerald Classic NovelFrancis Scott Fitzgerald4h 45m4.6 (9.3K)$18 · $0.00
Something Like LoveBeverly Jenkins10h 21m4.6 (2.7K)$29 · $0.00
Black History CollectionFrederick Douglass, Harriet Ann Jacobs, Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. Du Bois27h 9m4.6 (2.6K)$18 · $0.00
The Old Man and the Sea (Annotated)Ernest Hemingway4h 27m4.6 (1.4K)$2 · $0.00
White HotIlona Andrews13h 18m4.5 (136.9K)$5 · $0.00
The Ghost by the Billabong (The Matilda Saga, #5)Jackie French14h 58m4.6 (773)$33 · $0.00
Cast in BloodMichelle Sagara16h 35m4.6 (607)$33 · $0.00
The Captain Blood Trilogy (Annotated)Rafael Sabatini29h 20m4.6 (1K)$3 · $0.00
Ship of the Line (Annotated)Cecil Louis Troughton Smith11h 13m4.6 (1K)$2 · $0.00
The George Orwell CollectionGeorge Orwell24h 46m4.5 (14.4K)$12 · $0.00
Time RegainedMarcel Proust15h 38m4.5 (9.2K)$2 · $0.00
Driving ForceElle James4h 58m4.6 (407)$20 · $0.00
When God Calls the HeartBrian Bird, Michelle Cox3h 24m4.6 (439)$10 · $0.00
You may also like
Of Human Bondage (The Unabridged Autobiographical Novel) (Annotated)William Somerset Maugham29h 57m4.2 (197K)$1.99 · $0.00
City of Night BirdsJuhea Kim11h 46m3.7 (13.8K)$29 · $0.00
Uptown GirlChristie Brinkley14h 33m4.0 (5.3K)$33 · $0.00
Cher: The Memoir, Part One: The global number 1 bestsellerCher15h 47m4.4 (41.2K)$33 · $0.00
The Half of ItMadison Beer3h 53m4.2 (10.4K)$20 · $0.00
OF HUMAN BONDAGEWilliam Somerset Maugham29h 53m4.2 (82.9K)$1.99 · $0.00
Of Human BondageW. Somerset Maugham26h 58m4.2 (193.6K)$1 · $0.00
The Girl on the BalconyOlivia Hussey9h 50m4.2 (2K)$20 · $0.00
The Professor of DesirePhilip Roth8h 45m3.8 (5.8K)$23 · $0.00
Love and Mr LewishamH. G. Wells7h 42m3.7 (2.2K)$1 · $0.00
Friendship List #4: 13 and 3/4Lisa Greenwald8h 15m4.5 (727)$26 · $0.00
Dying of PolitenessGeena Davis7h 37m4.2 (11.6K)$26 · $0.00
The ProfessorCharlotte Brontë10h 32m3.7 (38.6K)$4 · $0.00
Down the Rabbit HoleHolly Madison10h 51m3.8 (67.7K)$8 · $0.00
Their Eyes Were Watching GodZora Neale Hurston6h 45m4.2 (486K)$8 · $0.00
It's Not Like It's a SecretMisa Sugiura10h 35m3.9 (14.1K)$29 · $0.00
Tono-BungayHerbert George Wells16h 18m3.7 (3.7K)$1 · $0.00
It Only Happens In The MoviesHolly Bourne9h 25m3.9 (40.9K)$20 · $0.00
I Am YoursReema Zaman11h 57m4.3 (367)$23 · $0.00
Emmie & Friends: Invisible EmmieTerri Libenson1h 35m4.2 (29.6K)$16 · $0.00