In 1958 Maugham stated in a CBC interview that Cakes and Ale was his favourite of all his novels.Maugham's masterpiece is generally agreed to be Of Human Bondage, a semiautobiographical novel that deals with the life of the main character Philip Carey, who, like Maugham, was orphaned, and brought up by his pious uncle. It is one of two books to take the same quote for a title, the other being by Edward Spencer Mott. Maugham drew his title from the remark of Sir Toby Belch to Malvolio in William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night: 'Dost thou think, because thou art virtuous, there shall be no more cakes and ale?' Cakes and ale are the emblems of the good life in the tagline to the fable attributed to Aesop, 'The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse': 'Better beans and bacon in peace than cakes and ale in fear'. Her character is treated favourably by the book's narrator, Ashenden, who understands her sexual energy to be a muse to the many artists who surround her. Maugham exposes the misguided social snobbery leveled at the character Rosie Driffield, whose frankness, honesty and sexual freedom make her a target of conservative propriety. because in its pages lives for me again the woman with the lovely smile who was the model for Rosie Driffield.'įreebase Rate this definition: 0.0 / 0 votesĬakes and Ale: or, the Skeleton in the Cupboard is a novel by British author William Somerset Maugham.

But the book I like best is Cakes and Ale. In his introduction to a Modern Library edition, published in 1950, Maugham wrote, 'I am willing enough to agree with common opinion that Of Human Bondage is my best work. Maugham drew his title from the remark of Sir Toby Belch to Malvolio in William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night: 'Dost thou think, because thou art virtuous, there shall be no more cakes and ale?' Cakes and ale are also the emblems of the good life in the moral of the fable attributed to Aesop, 'The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse': 'Better beans and bacon in peace than cakes and ale in fear.' Her character is treated favourably by the book's narrator, Ashenden, who understands that she was a muse to the many artists who surrounded her, and who himself enjoyed her sexual favours. Maugham exposes the misguided social snobbery levelled at the character Rosie Driffield, whose frankness, honesty, and sexual freedom make her a target of conservative opprobrium.

Wikipedia Rate this definition: 0.0 / 0 votesĬakes and Ale, or, The Skeleton in the Cupboard (1930) is a novel by the British author W.

Cakes and ale novel