''The Mixture as Before'' is a collection of 10 short stories by the British writer
W. Somerset Maugham
William Somerset Maugham ( ; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965) was an English writer, known for his plays, novels and short stories. Born in Paris, where he spent his first ten years, Maugham was schooled in England and went to a German un ...
, first published by
William Heinemann
William Henry Heinemann (18 May 1863 – 5 October 1920) was an English publisher of Jewish descent and the founder of the Heinemann publishing house in London.
Early life
On 18 May 1863, Heinemann was born in Surbiton, Surrey, England. Heine ...
in 1940.
Maugham, W. Somerset (1874-1965)
British Library, accessed 6 November 2016.
In the foreword, Maugham writes, "When my last volume of short stories was published ''The Times'' headed their review of it with the title ''The Mixture as Before''. This of course was meant in a depreciatory sense, but I did not take it as such.... The writer has his special communication to make.... there is in his personality a certain abundance he may continue for a long time to produce work which is varied and characteristic; but the time comes at last... when, having given what he has to give, his powers seem to fail.... He must be content, he must rejoice even, if a new work... shows no falling off; if, in fact, it can truthfully be called The Mixture as Before."
The stories
"The Three Fat Women of Antibes"
Arrow, Beatrice and Frank, intent on losing weight, stay at Antibes
Antibes (, also , ; oc, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal, Antíbol) is a coastal city in the Alpes-Maritimes Departments of France, department of southeastern France, on the French Riviera, Côte d'Azur between Cannes and Nice.
The town of ...
on the French Riviera
The French Riviera (known in French as the ; oc, Còsta d'Azur ; literal translation " Azure Coast") is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is usually considered to extend fro ...
. They are on a strict diet. They like to play bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...
, and Frank invites her friend Lena to make four at bridge. Lena's liking for fattening food causes tension among the other three. After she leaves, Beatrice, having had to watch Lena eating for a fortnight, gives in and starts eating the same; the others follow suit.
"A Man with a Conscience"
In Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni
Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni (; gcr, Senloran di Maronni) is a commune of French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France located in South America. Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni is one of the three sub-prefectures of French Guiana and the seat ...
, a penal colony in French Guiana
French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...
, the narrator is interested in Jean Charvin, convicted of murdering his wife, now working in the colony's accounts department, and learns hs story. In Le Havre
Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very cl ...
in France, Jean and his friend Henri Renard both loved Marie-Louise; Jean had a job, but Henri did not. When Jean's boss, who was considering Henri for a job, asked him if his friend was honest, his false reaction made the company reject Henri, who went to the far east to work for a silk firm, while Jean married Marie-Louise. Henri later died. Jean began to dislike his wife, and, tortured by remorse about Henri, eventually gave way to a violent act against her.
"The Treasure"
Richard Harenger, working in the Home Office in London, moves to a flat near Whitehall
Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It is the main ...
after he separates from his wife. Requiring a parlourmaid, he hires Pritchard, who turns out to be a perfect servant. One evening, when he decides to go to the cinema, he thinks it would be kind to ask Pritchard, who has nothing to do on her evening off, to come with him. They have dinner afterwards and dance. Back at the flat, happy that he has been kind to Pritchard, he kisses her, which turns into passion. The next morning he reproaches himself for being a fool, but is relieved to find that she has resumed her work as if nothing had happened.
"The Lotus Eater"
On Capri
Capri ( , ; ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. The main town of Capri that is located on the island shares the name. It has been ...
, the narrator meets Thomas Wilson, who tells his story: He was formerly a bank manager in England, and fell in love with the island while on holiday. His wife and child having died, he decided to live on Capri, and, aged 35, bought an annuity
In investment, an annuity is a series of payments made at equal intervals.Kellison, Stephen G. (1970). ''The Theory of Interest''. Homewood, Illinois: Richard D. Irwin, Inc. p. 45 Examples of annuities are regular deposits to a savings account, mo ...
for 25 years. He has ten years left, then he will kill himself. The narrator, returning many years later, learns that Wilson, after putting off the act until he could not get credit, eventually made a failed attempt to kill himself which affected his mental state; he is living in reduced circumstances and avoids people, "like a hunted animal".
"The Lion's Skin"
Captain Robert Forestier and his American wife Eleanor, who met during the first world war in France when he was wounded and she was a nurse, live on the French Riviera. Aware of her husband's aristocratic ancestry, she regards him as a perfect English gentleman. He tells her to avoid their neighbour Sir Frederick Hardy, whom he regards as disreputable. Sir Frederick, meeting Forestier in a bar, says he remembers seeing him as a car-washer in a garage just before the war. When the Forestiers' house catches fire, Forestier dies trying to save a dog trapped inside: "No longer knowing the difference between sham and real, he had sacrificed his life to a spurious heroism."
"Lord Mountdrago"
Lord Mountdrago, Secretary for Foreign Affairs in the government, sees Dr. Audlin, a psycho-analyst in Wimpole Street
Wimpole Street is a street in Marylebone, central London. Located in the City of Westminster, it is associated with private medical practice and medical associations. No. 1 Wimpole Street is an example of Edwardian baroque architecture, compl ...
, London. He describes dreams which prevent him from working, in which he humiliates himself in the presence of Owen Griffiths, a Labour MP from Wales. In the real world, Griffiths seems to know about these dreams. Once, in a dream, Mountdrago hit him on the head, and the real Griffiths complained of a headache: he fears he might kill him in a dream, causing the real Griffiths to die. He admits that he despises Griffiths and has ruined his career by ridiculing his speech in Parliament. Audlin later learns that Mountdrago has died by seemingly falling onto railway lines at a tube station, and that Grffiths has been found dead. (This story was dramatized in the film ''Three Cases of Murder
''Three Cases of Murder'' is a 1955 British horror omnibus film comprising three stories: "The Picture," "You Killed Elizabeth," and "Lord Mountdrago." Eamonn Andrews introduces each. Alan Badel appears in all three.John Hamilton, ''The British ...
''.)
"Gigolo and Gigolette"
Syd Cotman, a cockney
Cockney is an accent and dialect of English, mainly spoken in London and its environs, particularly by working-class and lower middle-class Londoners. The term "Cockney" has traditionally been used to describe a person from the East End, or b ...
, worked as a dancing gigolo
A gigolo () is a male escort or social companion who is supported by a person in a continuing relationship, often living in her residence or having to be present at her beck and call.
The term ''gigolo'' usually implies a man who adopts a lifest ...
in hotels in France until the slump came; he married Stella, a swimming instructress; they took part in dance marathons. Now they are at a casino on the French Riviera, drawing customers: Stella dives sixty feet into a tank of water five feet deep, flames coming from petrol on the surface. Customers come to see if she will kill herself. She hates doing this and tells Syd she wants to stop; he acquiesces, since he loves her, although they might starve. But she gets ready for the next dive. (This was one of the stories by Maugham dramatized in the film ''Encore
An encore is an additional performance given by performers after the planned show has ended, usually in response to extended applause from the audience.Lalange Cochrane, in ''Oxford Companion to Music'', Alison Latham, ed., Oxford University Pres ...
''.)
"The Voice of the Turtle"
The narrator, a novelist, is interested in the first novel of young author Peter Melrose. Staying with the narrator on the French Riviera while he looks for a ''pension
A pension (, from Latin ''pensiō'', "payment") is a fund into which a sum of money is added during an employee's employment years and from which payments are drawn to support the person's retirement from work in the form of periodic payments ...
'', Melrose describes an imaginary prima donna
In opera or commedia dell'arte, a prima donna (; Italian for "first lady"; plural: ''prime donne'') is the leading female singer in the company, the person to whom the prime roles would be given.
''Prime donne'' often had grand off-stage pers ...
who will be the subject of his next novel. The narrator, thinking it an idealistic portrait, invites to dinner a real prima donna, La Falterona, whom he thinks is unintelligent and self-centred, in order to disillusion Melrose. Afterwards, Melrose says she is just as he imagined his character. After the novel is published, La Falterona is furious with the narrator for letting her be the subject of Melrose's novel.
"An Official Position"
Louis Remire is a former policeman serving a sentence, for murdering his wife, in Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, a penal colony in French Guiana. He is the public executioner at the prison and has his own house. He is hated by the freed convicts still living in the colony. They murdered his predecessor, deceived by a seduction; Remire, no longer interested in women, and protected by his two dogs, feels safe. After a contented afternoon fishing, he goes to the prison at midnight in order to move the guillotine to the prison yard. On the way there he realizes his dogs have been killed; he is surrounded and stabbed to death.
"The Facts of Life"
Nicky Garnet, aged eighteen, is a promising tennis-player; before he goes to Monte Carlo
Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is ...
for a tournament, his father, a London stockbroker, tells him not to gamble, not to lend anyone money, and to avoid women. After the tournament in Monte Carlo Nicky tries playing roulette and wins a lot of money; he lends money to a woman and she returns it; he is seduced by this woman but is able to retrieve the money she steals from him. His father is infuriated that he has been made to look foolish because Nicky has successfully ignored his advice. (This was one of the stories by Maugham dramatized in the film ''Quartet
In music, a quartet or quartette (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers; or a musical composition for four voices and instruments.
Classical String quartet
In classical music, one of the most common combinations o ...
''.)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mixture as Before, The
Heinemann (publisher) books
1940 short story collections
Short story collections by W. Somerset Maugham