This is a selection of short stories written by W. Somerset Maugham (with GEMs highlighted).  The list includes links for several associated items which may be available online for each book: (a) Wikipedia page, (b) e-book, and (c) audiobook.  There is also a column called “More info” with links to optional posts on each book.

Note that the list is sortable by each column. (Multiple levels of sorting are possible by sorting more than one column in succession, from lowest to highest.)  You can also do an instant filtering of the table by entering a character string in the ‘Search’ field.

Maugham was a superb writer of short stories, in the same league as other masters of the genre like Guy de Maupassant and O. Henry.  However, unlike the latter authors, Maugham was also a master of novels and plays: his works in these categories are each listed in a separate section.  Collectively, Maugham’s novels, short stories and plays constitute an amazing body of work spanning a period of over 50 years.

Please share any comments or suggestions on this list by filling out this form.  You can use the same form to express interest in becoming a contributor to the site and also request downloadable PDF files for many of the stories below.

Year Author Story Collection (Book) Short Story Title GEM! Year-orig Comments Wiki page E-story Audiobook More
1899 Maugham, W. Somerset Orientations The Punctiliousness of Don Sebastian 1898 Maugham's first short story. Not included in later collections
1899 Maugham, W. Somerset Orientations A Bad Example 1899 Not included in later collections
1899 Maugham, W. Somerset Orientations Daisy 1899 Not included in later collections
1899 Maugham, W. Somerset Orientations De Amicitia 1899 Not included in later collections
1899 Maugham, W. Somerset Orientations Faith 1899 Not included in later collections
1899 Maugham, W. Somerset Orientations The Choice of Amyntas 1899 Not included in later collections
1921 Maugham, W. Somerset The Trembling of a Leaf Mackintosh 1920 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 1
1921 Maugham, W. Somerset The Trembling of a Leaf Honolulu 1921 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 1
1921 Maugham, W. Somerset The Trembling of a Leaf Rain (aka Miss Thompson) gem.png 1921 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 1
1921 Maugham, W. Somerset The Trembling of a Leaf Red 1921 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 4
1921 Maugham, W. Somerset The Trembling of a Leaf The Fall of Edward Barnard gem.png 1921 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 1
1921 Maugham, W. Somerset The Trembling of a Leaf The Pool 1921 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 1
1926 Maugham, W. Somerset The Casuarina Tree: Six Stories Before the Party 1922 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 1
1926 Maugham, W. Somerset The Casuarina Tree: Six Stories P. & O. (aka Bewitched) 1923 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 4
1926 Maugham, W. Somerset The Casuarina Tree: Six Stories The Force of Circumstance 1924 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 2
1926 Maugham, W. Somerset The Casuarina Tree: Six Stories The Letter gem.png 1924 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 4
1926 Maugham, W. Somerset The Casuarina Tree: Six Stories The Outstation 1924 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 4
1926 Maugham, W. Somerset The Casuarina Tree: Six Stories The Yellow Streak 1925 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 1
1928 Maugham, W. Somerset Ashenden: Or The British Agent His Excellency 1927 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 3
1928 Maugham, W. Somerset Ashenden: Or The British Agent The Hairless Mexican 1927 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 3
1928 Maugham, W. Somerset Ashenden: Or The British Agent The Traitor 1927 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 3
1928 Maugham, W. Somerset Ashenden: Or The British Agent Giulia Lazzari 1928 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 3
1928 Maugham, W. Somerset Ashenden: Or The British Agent Miss King 1928 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 3
1928 Maugham, W. Somerset Ashenden: Or The British Agent Mr. Harrington's Washing 1928 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 3
1931 Maugham, W. Somerset Six Stories Written in the First Person Singular Jane 1923 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 2
1931 Maugham, W. Somerset Six Stories Written in the First Person Singular The Round Dozen 1924 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 2
1931 Maugham, W. Somerset Six Stories Written in the First Person Singular The Creative Impulse gem.png 1926 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 2
1931 Maugham, W. Somerset Six Stories Written in the First Person Singular The Human Element 1930 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 2
1931 Maugham, W. Somerset Six Stories Written in the First Person Singular The Alien Corn 1931 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 2
1931 Maugham, W. Somerset Six Stories Written in the First Person Singular Virtue 1931 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 2
1933 Maugham, W. Somerset Ah King Footprints in the Jungle 1927 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 2
1933 Maugham, W. Somerset Ah King The Back of Beyond 1931 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 4
1933 Maugham, W. Somerset Ah King The Door of Opportunity 1931 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 2
1933 Maugham, W. Somerset Ah King The Vessel of Wrath 1931 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 2
1933 Maugham, W. Somerset Ah King Neil MacAdam 1932 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 4
1933 Maugham, W. Somerset Ah King The Book-Bag 1932 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 4
1936 Maugham, W. Somerset Cosmopolitans Mayhew 1923 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 4
1936 Maugham, W. Somerset Cosmopolitans Raw Material (aka The Imposters) 1923 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 4
1936 Maugham, W. Somerset Cosmopolitans German Harry 1924 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 4
1936 Maugham, W. Somerset Cosmopolitans In a Strange Land 1924 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 2
1936 Maugham, W. Somerset Cosmopolitans Mr. Know-All 1924 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 1
1936 Maugham, W. Somerset Cosmopolitans Salvatore (aka Salvatore the Fisherman) 1924 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 4
1936 Maugham, W. Somerset Cosmopolitans The Ant and the Grasshopper gem.png 1924 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 1
1936 Maugham, W. Somerset Cosmopolitans The Dream 1924 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 2
1936 Maugham, W. Somerset Cosmopolitans The Happy Man 1924 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 1
1936 Maugham, W. Somerset Cosmopolitans The Luncheon 1924 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 1
1936 Maugham, W. Somerset Cosmopolitans A Friend in Need (aka The Man Who Wouldn't Hurt a Fly) 1925 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 2
1936 Maugham, W. Somerset Cosmopolitans Louise (aka The Most Selfish Woman I Ever Knew) 1925 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 1
1936 Maugham, W. Somerset Cosmopolitans The Escape (aka The Widow's Might) 1925 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 1
1936 Maugham, W. Somerset Cosmopolitans The Man with the Scar 1925 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 2
1936 Maugham, W. Somerset Cosmopolitans The Poet (aka The Great Man) 1925 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 1
1936 Maugham, W. Somerset Cosmopolitans The Portrait of a Gentleman (aka The Code of a Gentleman) 1925 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 4
1936 Maugham, W. Somerset Cosmopolitans The Promise (aka An Honest Woman) 1925 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 1
1936 Maugham, W. Somerset Cosmopolitans French Joe (aka Another Man Without a Country) 1926 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 4
1936 Maugham, W. Somerset Cosmopolitans The End of the Flight 1926 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 4
1936 Maugham, W. Somerset Cosmopolitans A String of Beads (aka Pearls) 1927 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 1
1936 Maugham, W. Somerset Cosmopolitans The Closed Shop 1927 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 2
1936 Maugham, W. Somerset Cosmopolitans The Four Dutchmen 1928 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 4
1936 Maugham, W. Somerset Cosmopolitans Straight Flush 1929 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 4
1936 Maugham, W. Somerset Cosmopolitans The Bum (aka A Derelict) 1929 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 2
1936 Maugham, W. Somerset Cosmopolitans The Social Sense (aka The Extraordinary Sex) 1929 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 2
1936 Maugham, W. Somerset Cosmopolitans The Verger (aka The Man Who Made His Mark) 1929 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 2
1936 Maugham, W. Somerset Cosmopolitans The Judgement Seat 1936 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 1
1936 Maugham, W. Somerset Cosmopolitans Home (aka Home from the Sea) Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 1
1936 Maugham, W. Somerset Cosmopolitans The Wash-Tub (aka Hiding) Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 4
1940 Maugham, W. Somerset The Mixture as Before The Three Fat Women of Antibes 1933 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 1
1940 Maugham, W. Somerset The Mixture as Before Gigolo and Gigolette 1935 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 1
1940 Maugham, W. Somerset The Mixture as Before The Lotus Eater 1935 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 4
1940 Maugham, W. Somerset The Mixture as Before The Voice of the Turtle 1935 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 1
1940 Maugham, W. Somerset The Mixture as Before An Official Position 1937 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 4
1940 Maugham, W. Somerset The Mixture as Before The Lion's Skin 1937 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 1
1940 Maugham, W. Somerset The Mixture as Before A Man with a Conscience 1939 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 4
1940 Maugham, W. Somerset The Mixture as Before The Facts of Life gem.png 1939 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 1
1940 Maugham, W. Somerset The Mixture as Before Lord Mountdrago Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 2
1940 Maugham, W. Somerset The Mixture as Before The Treasure Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 2
1947 Maugham, W. Somerset Creatures of Circumstance A Man from Glasgow 1905 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 1
1947 Maugham, W. Somerset Creatures of Circumstance The Happy Couple 1908 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 1
1947 Maugham, W. Somerset Creatures of Circumstance The Mother 1909 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 1
1947 Maugham, W. Somerset Creatures of Circumstance A Casual Affair 1934 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 4
1947 Maugham, W. Somerset Creatures of Circumstance Appearance and Reality 1934 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 1
1947 Maugham, W. Somerset Creatures of Circumstance Sanatorium 1938 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 3
1947 Maugham, W. Somerset Creatures of Circumstance Flotsam and Jetsam 1940 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 2
1947 Maugham, W. Somerset Creatures of Circumstance The Unconquered 1943 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 1
1947 Maugham, W. Somerset Creatures of Circumstance Winter Cruise 1943 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 4
1947 Maugham, W. Somerset Creatures of Circumstance A Woman of Fifty 1946 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 4
1947 Maugham, W. Somerset Creatures of Circumstance The Colonel's Lady 1946 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 2
1947 Maugham, W. Somerset Creatures of Circumstance The Kite 1946 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 4
1947 Maugham, W. Somerset Creatures of Circumstance The Point of Honour 1947 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 1
1947 Maugham, W. Somerset Creatures of Circumstance The Romantic Young Lady 1947 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 1
1951 Maugham, W. Somerset The Complete Short Stories Volume II The Taipan 1922 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 2
1951 Maugham, W. Somerset The Complete Short Stories Volume II The Consul 1926 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 2
1951 Maugham, W. Somerset The Complete Short Stories Volume III A Marriage of Convenience gem.png 1908 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 4
1951 Maugham, W. Somerset The Complete Short Stories Volume III Mirage 1929 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 4
1951 Maugham, W. Somerset The Complete Short Stories Volume III Princess September (aka Princess September and the Nightingale) 1939 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 4
1951 Maugham, W. Somerset The Complete Short Stories Volume III Episode 1947 Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 4
1951 Maugham, W. Somerset The Complete Short Stories Volume III Mabel Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 4
1951 Maugham, W. Somerset The Complete Short Stories Volume III Masterson Also in Collected Short Stories Volume 4
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