 First edition | |
| Author | W. Somerset Maugham |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Published | 1941 Heinemann |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Preceded by | The Mixture As Before |
| Followed by | The Hour Before Dawn |
Up at the Villa is a 1941 novella by William Somerset Maugham about a young widow caught among three men: her suitor, her one-night stand, and her confidant. A fast-paced story, Up at the Villa incorporates elements of the crime and suspense novel.
The action takes place in the late 1930s. 30-year-old Mary Panton, whose extraordinary beauty has always been one of her greatest assets, has been a widow for one year. Her late husband Matthew, whom she married at 21 because she loved him, turned out to be an alcoholic, a gambler, a womaniser, and a wife-beater. Mary endures all the hardship and pain inflicted on her by her husband (including his having sex with her while drunk). When he drinks and drives, he has a car accident. A few hours later, he dies in Mary's arms. This, she concludes, is a blessing for both of them.
The Leonards (a couple who do not appear in person in the novel) offer Panton their 16th-century villa on a hill above Florence, Italy, for an extended stay. She gladly accepts the offer. The old villa is staffed by Nina, the maid, and her husband Ciro, the manservant—but it is otherwise empty. Mary, whose parents are both dead, enjoys the solitary life up at the villa. Occasionally, she joins other residents of, and visitors to, Florence for a party or luncheon. She enjoys driving round the countryside in her car. So far as a widow she has not taken a lover. She says it has been an easy decision as she has never been tempted.
During dinner at a restaurant with some of her acquaintances—among them the old Princess San Ferdinando, an American who is said to have been a "loose woman" in her day—they listen to a young man playing the violin. He is dressed in folkloric clothes and does not play well. At the end of the evening, the Princess tries to set Mary up with Rowley Flint, a young Englishman of independent means and risky reputation, by asking her to give him a lift back to his hotel. Flint makes a pass at her, but she rejects him, and laughs, even when he proposes to her.
After she has dropped him off, Mary drives back home. On her way, although it is late at night, she stops to have a look at the scenery. She senses someone nearby and learns that it is Karl Richter, the fiddler from the restaurant, who is also admiring the view. They begin to talk, and Mary learns that he is a 23-year-old Austrian art student who has fled his country because of Nazi persecution. Without a passport or documents, he is staying as an illegal immigrant in a rented room near the Leonards' villa.
Mary takes pity on Richter, and invites him to look at the paintings in the villa. Learning he had gone without dinner, Mary fixes him some bacon and eggs. They have wine with their improvised meal. They end up in bed.
When Mary thinks it is time for Richter to leave and the latter, to her dismay, asks when he will be able to see her again, the idyll quickly deteriorates. Mary remembers the revolver her suitor, 54-year-old Sir Edgar Swift, has forced upon her as a means of protection. When Richter starts threatening her, she pulls it out and aims it at him. She cannot pull the trigger and advises him to try and escape to Switzerland.
After she tells him she slept with him from pity, Richter attacks her verbally. He picks her up and throws her on her bed, before covering her face with kisses. She tries to get away from him but he overpowers her. Seized with remorse over what he sees as the impossibility of life since escaping his homeland, Richter says, "You asked me not to forget you. I shall forget, but you won't." He shoots himself through the breast with Swift's gun.
The maid Nina hears the shot and comes to the bedroom door. Mary panics and sends her away. She phones Flint and asks him to help her. Mary is prepared to accept full responsibility for her actions. But Flint suggests they try to dispose of the body.
They put the body in the car and drive out into the country, where he dumps it. A car full of drunk Italians approaches and must slow to try to pass. When the party see Mary and Flint embracing each other as they pretend to be lovers, they start singing "La donna è mobile" and drive on. The next morning, Flint returns and leaves the revolver with Richter's body.
Mary sleeps almost until noon. She has an invitation for luncheon, and Flint has urged her not to show any signs of panic or fear, so she attends it. Her guilty conscience is her constant companion.
Sir Edgar Swift, who has known her and her parents since she was a little child, arrives, planning to renew his suit since she was widowed. He had told her of an impending promotion to a high government post in colonial India and his need for a suitable wife. He proposes to Mary before a short trip to Cannes on urgent government business. Mary tells him she will give him an answer when he returns.
Mary confesses everything when Swift returns. He says that he forgives her and that he still wants to marry her. But, he says he must give up the promised post because of the risk of her past being exposed. He suggests that he can retire, they will marry and move to the French Côte d'Azur. Mary, finally says that she does not love him and could not be around him all the time.
After Swift has left, Flint turns up at the villa. When he mentions owning an estate in Kenya, and having read Dr Johnson, he appears more attractive. Agreeing with him that life is about taking risks, Mary decides to accept his proposal.
The novella was adapted as the 2000 film Up at the Villa , directed by Philip Haas. The movie starred Kristin Scott Thomas, Anne Bancroft, James Fox, Derek Jacobi, and Sean Penn. In the film, subplots were added to expand the material to feature film length, which reviewers and cinemagoers criticised.
Somerset Maugham donated the manuscript of Up at the Villa to Rupert Hart-Davis to sell in 1960 to raise money for the London Library; it sold for £1,100. [1]
Sweep is a series of young adult fantasy novels written by Cate Tiernan, the first of which, Book of Shadows, was published in 2001. The series follows a teenage girl, Morgan Rowlands, who discovers she is the descendant of a long line of witches, and possesses powerful magic of her own.
The Puritan, or the Widow of Watling Street, also known as The Puritan Widow, is an anonymous Jacobean stage comedy, first published in 1607. It is often attributed to Thomas Middleton, but also belongs to the Shakespeare Apocrypha due to its title page attribution to "W.S.".
"Guardian Devil" is an eight-issue Daredevil story arc originally published by Marvel Comics in Daredevil #1-8. It features the hero suddenly caring for an infant that may be either the Messiah or the Antichrist. The issues were written by filmmaker Kevin Smith and illustrated by Joe Quesada and Jimmy Palmiotti. The 1999 graphic novel combining the eight issues into one collection features an introduction by Ben Affleck, who portrayed Daredevil in the 2003 feature film adaptation. The story features strong Catholic themes, which came from writer Smith's own experiences.
The Razor's Edge is a 1946 American drama film based on W. Somerset Maugham's 1944 novel of the same name. It stars Tyrone Power, Gene Tierney, John Payne, Anne Baxter, Clifton Webb, and Herbert Marshall, with a supporting cast including Lucile Watson, Frank Latimore, and Elsa Lanchester. Marshall plays Somerset Maugham. The film was directed by Edmund Goulding.
Quartet is a 1948 British anthology film with four segments, each based on a story by W. Somerset Maugham. The author appears at the start and end of the movie to introduce the stories and comment about his writing career. It was successful enough to produce two sequels, Trio (1950) and Encore (1951), and popularised the compendium film format, leading to films such as O. Henry's Full House in 1952.
A Trick to Catch the Old One is a Jacobean comedy written by Thomas Middleton, first published in 1608. The play is a satire in the subgenre of city comedy.
The Widow is a Jacobean stage play first published in 1652, but written decades earlier.
Encore is a 1951 anthology film composed of adaptations of three short stories by W. Somerset Maugham:
Another Cinderella Story is a 2008 American teen musical comedy film directed by Damon Santostefano and written by Erik Patterson and Jessica Scott. The film stars Selena Gomez, Drew Seeley, and Jane Lynch. It is a sequel to A Cinderella Story (2004) and the second installment in the A Cinderella Story series. Like the first film, it is a retelling of the Cinderella fairy tale in a modern setting. The film was released on DVD on September 16, 2008, and premiered on ABC Family on January 18, 2009.
Hare Trimmed is a 1953 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies short directed by Friz Freleng and written by Warren Foster. The short was released on June 20, 1953, and features Bugs Bunny, Yosemite Sam and Granny.
Rolling Man is a 1972 American made-for-television drama film directed by Peter Hyams in his directorial debut. It premiered on ABC as the ABC Movie of the Week on October 4, 1972.
Lovers Courageous is a 1932 American pre-Code drama film directed by Robert Z. Leonard and written by Frederick Lonsdale. The film stars Robert Montgomery, Madge Evans, Roland Young, Frederick Kerr, Reginald Owen and Beryl Mercer. The film was released on January 23, 1932, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Up at the Villa is a 2000 romantic drama film directed by Philip Haas and starring Kristin Scott Thomas, Anne Bancroft, James Fox, Derek Jacobi, and Sean Penn. It is based on the 1941 novella Up at the Villa by W. Somerset Maugham.
Lady Frederick is a comedy by the British writer W. Somerset Maugham, written early in his career. The play was first seen in London in 1907, and was very successful, running for 422 performances. The title role was played by Ethel Irving. In New York it was first performed in 1908, with Lady Frederick played by Ethel Barrymore, who reprised her role in the play's film adaptation, The Divorcee.
"Jeeves and the Old School Chum" is a short story by P. G. Wodehouse, and features the young gentleman Bertie Wooster and his valet Jeeves. The story was published in The Strand Magazine in the United Kingdom in February 1930, and in Cosmopolitan in the United States that same month. The story was also included as the ninth story in the 1930 collection Very Good, Jeeves.
The Young Idea, subtitled "A comedy of youth in three acts", is an early play by Noël Coward, written in 1921 and first produced the following year. After a pre-London provincial tour it ran at the Savoy Theatre for 60 performances from 1 February 1923.
Ray Meets Helen is a 2017 romantic drama film directed by Alan Rudolph. It is notable as Sondra Locke's last acting appearance before her death in 2018.
"Mr. Jingles" is the second episode of the ninth season of the anthology television series American Horror Story. It aired on September 25, 2019, on the cable network FX. The episode was written by Tim Minear and directed by John J. Gray.
"The Lady in White" is the seventh episode of the ninth season of the anthology television series American Horror Story. Written by John J. Gray and directed by Liz Friedlander, it aired on October 30, 2019, on the cable network FX.
