BBC Radio 4 Extra

Short Works: The World of Somerset Maugham

Drama: Classic & Period

Collection of short stories from the literary giant

Short Works: The World of Somerset Maugham: Series 3

Short Works: The World of Somerset Maugham: Series 3: Episode 2: The Closed Shop

Episode 2

Episode 2: The Closed Shop

Series 3

The Closed Shop

BBC Radio 4 Extra - Short Works: The World of Somerset Maugham, Series 3, The Closed Shop

In a South American country, business is in trouble. Who will the politicians turn to?

In a South American country where business is in trouble, politicians conspire with the local women to keep trade afloat.

In a South American country, where business is in trouble, politicians conspire with the local women to keep trade afloat.

Interviewed in 1933, Maugham said, 'It has always seemed to me that literature can only find its fullest and freest expression in the essay or short story.' He wrote more than 100 stories, at least 14 of which he burned on one of his 'bonfire nights', after Winston Churchill warned that they contravened the Official Secrets Act. Of the stories that do survive, he said, 'some of them deal with circumstances and places to which the passage of time and the growth of civilisation will give a romantic glamour.'

A collection of Maugham's best stories with tales from home and abroad. Tales of intrigue from far flung colonial outposts and tales of passion from quintessentially British hearths.

Maugham writes perfect vignettes - snapshots of human life in all its diversity - captured at a moment of crisis or revelation.

Abridged by Polly Coles
Read by Lucy Robinson
Directed by Eoin O'Callaghan
Produced by Clive Brill.

A Brill Production for BBC Radio 4 Extra.

Your digital radio entertainment station showcasing the best in comedy and drama

Your digital radio entertainment station showcasing the best in comedy and drama. With recent favourites from BBC Radio 4.

Series 3 of Short Works: The World of Somerset Maugham. Made for 4 Extra.

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Short Works: The World of Somerset Maugham

Series 3

Episode 2: The Closed Shop

Genres

Brand

Series

BBC Radio 4 Extra

About BBC Radio 4 Extra