House of Doors, The
Tan, Twang EngNeeding rest and sanctuary, when Willie Somerset Maugham accepts the hospitality of Robert Hamlyn and his wife Lesley in Penang in 1921 during the heyday of the Empire, he is beset by trouble. Facing financial ruin, an unfortunate marriage and to top it off, writer's block, his growing friendship with Lesley expands his vistas: he hears of her connection to the Proudlock murder case in Kuala Lumpur (the inspiration behind his short story The Letter), through to the politics of Chinese revolutionary Sun Yat Sen.
Moving between Lesley and Willie's perspectives, this is an intriguing and thoughtful story of love, duty and betrayal based around real events and vividly evoking colonial Malaya.
Pages
304
304
Year
2023
2023
Reviews
16-01-2025
A gentle, easily read book, with a strong commentary about relationships, sexual preferences, and race. A good read.
13-01-2025
Interesting complex story, successfully bringing together several themes of historical interest. Enjoyed by all, especially the descriptive writing. Sparked a real interest in learning more about the era and region, and we are now keen to read Somerset Maugham books.
09-01-2025
Everyone loved this book. Great discussion, and a number in the group now want to read Somerset Maugham's works. Others already reaching out for other titles by Tan Twan Eng. Very satisfying to finish the year on such a high note.
16-12-2024
A gentle, easily read book, with a strong commentary about relationships, sexual preferences, and race. A good read.
05-12-2024
We LOVED this book. Engaging story, beautiful language, charmingly conventional time-line, and added interest with the Maugham character. A winner.
16-10-2024
The entire group really enjoyed this book. The blend of fictionalised history along with the poetic language brought the richness of the colonial era alive. The Group enjoyed discussing the character Lesley, and the role she had to play.
09-10-2024
Most of the group loved this book which held its attention with its absorbing, vivid, evocative style. We enjoyed the great merging of fact and fiction throughout - several researched the 'real' characters further. In places exquisite! Some felt the private truths were hidden. The insight into colonialism, history and interracial relationships was so well done.
29-08-2024
A wonderful novel. We were captivated by the evocative descriptions of nature, a clever book weaving a story within a story about Somerset Maugham and the trial of Ethel Proudlock, as well as life in Penang and the revolutionary Sun Yat Sen. There is deceit, homophobia, gender bias and affairs threaded through. The characters were totally believable due to the author's intuitive people skills- would highly recommend. We had also read his 'The Garden of Evening Mists' with the B.D.S. Another beautiful novel.
29-08-2024
We enjoyed this book. Evocative descriptions and wonderful placement in a specific time in history. Rich, multi-layered story and the history, real people and fictional characters all beautifully woven together. Our library could come up with only one book by Somerset Maugham!
28-08-2024
We enjoyed this book with its lovely descriptions of Penang and its interesting account of life in the little British community a hundred years ago. We thought the weaving of fact and fiction was masterly, as was also the setting in two different time periods. The internet was a valuable resource with information about Somerset Maugham and the murder trial of Ethel Proudfoot. A fascinating story of a society imbued with racism, classism and sexism!
05-08-2024
Evocative of the era and beautiful language. We all enjoyed it. Clever mixing/weaving of characters.
05-08-2024
This story revoloves around a visit by Somerset Maugham to his friends Robert and Lesley. We loved this book. The language was evocative and brought back strong memories to those who had been to Penang. We enjoyed the seamless blend of fact and fiction. We were also intrigued by the story of Ethel Proudfoot and felt compelled to know more about her case. A book of many layers which becomes more interesting as it progresses.
02-05-2024
We were unsure about the portrayal of the life of W. Somerset Maugham - but decided it was more imaginary than factual in this. An interesting insight into a different culture and time.