Perfectly polite lives, quietly falling apart

This W. Somerset Maugham collection gathers sharp, unblinking tales of people who almost get what they want—or discover too late what it cost them. From drawing rooms buzzing with gossip to remote outposts thick with heat and regret, his stories follow restless artists, anxious colonials, and respectable souls nursing very unrespectable desires. The prose stays cool while the emotions smolder, turning chance encounters, small compromises, and private betrayals into elegantly told disasters you cannot look away from.