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The Razor's Edge | Introduction

The Razor's Edge, by British novelist W. Somerset Maugham, was published in London and New York in 1944. Maugham was seventy years old when the book was published, and it was to be the last of his major novels. He was one of the most popular writers of the day, and The Razor's Edge was an immediate success on both sides of the Atlantic. More than one million copies were sold within a few years.

W. Somerset Maugham AP/Wide World Photos

The novel spans a period of twenty-four years, from 1919 to 1943, and takes place in many different locations, including Chicago, Paris, London and India. It is a novel of ideas and of character. The main characters are upper-middle-class Americans, although Maugham, in his own person as the writer Somerset Maugham, is the narrator. The principal character is Larry Darrell, a former World War I aviator who is haunted by the fact that his friend was killed in the war saving Larry's life. Seeking an answer to the question of why evil exists in the world, Larry sets out on a quest that takes him to India, where he studies with a guru and gains mystical illumination. Larry's spiritual approach to life is contrasted with the materialism of the other characters, such as Gray Maturin, who becomes a wealthy stockbroker, and Elliot Templeton, a worldly, superficial man who spends most of his time socializing at upper-class parties.

In his depiction of a young man who rejects the dominant values of American culture and looks to the East for spiritual inspiration, Maugham anticipated the work of the Beat writers of the 1950s and the values of the counterculture of the 1960s.

The Razor's Edge Summary

Chapter 1

The Razor's Edge begins in 1919. The narrator, Somerset Maugham, is invited to a lunch in Chicago given by his friend Elliot Templeton. He meets Mrs. Louisa Bradley, her daughter Isabel and Isabel's fiancé Larry. The next day at a dinner party Maugham meets a friend of Larry's, Gray Maturin, who is also in love with Isabel. Gray's rich father has offered Larry, who does not have a job, a promising position in his company. But Larry is still suffering from the shock of seeing his best friend killed during World War I. He has no ambition or desire to work, and he turns the job offer down. Instead, he says he intends to go to Paris and loaf around for two years. Disappointed, Isabel says she will wait for him.

Chapter 2

In the fall of the following year, Maugham meets Larry in Paris, and Elliot, Mrs. Bradley and Isabel meet him in the spring. Larry shows no interest in returning to Chicago. He tells Isabel he spends his days reading. He reads French and Latin literature, and is teaching himself Greek. He loves acquiring knowledge. He asks Isabel to marry him straightaway, but she refuses because he does not have enough money. They break off the engagement but remain friends, and Isabel remains in love with him. Isabel is puzzled by Larry's attitude, but Maugham explains to her his theory that Larry is searching for God.

Chapter 3

Larry goes to work in a coal mine near Lens, in northern France, where he gets to know his coworker, a Pole named Kosti. Kosti is an uncouth man, but he is educated and knows a lot about mystical religion, and this arouses Larry's interest. In the spring, Kosti and Larry leave the mine and wander across Belgium and into Germany, where they find work on a farm. They stay there through the summer, but Larry decides to leaves after Becker's daughter-in-law Ellie, whom he does not even like, crawls into his bed one night. He makes his way to Bonn,... » Complete The Razor's Edge Summary