After a long career of writing novels and plays, Robin Maugham turns now to his own life and gives us a stirring, rather harrowing autobiography, a story of persistent suffering and disappointment. Sparing no intimate details, he recounts the constant struggle to escape from the shadows--the shadow of his father., Lord Chancellor of England, and the shadow of his uncle, Somerset Maugham.
Described as "unashamedly homosexual", Maugham never married, and the viscountcy became extinct upon his death. He had three sisters: Kate, Honor, and novelist Diana Marr-Johnson (1908–2007).
Maugham bought the merchant ship MV Joyita as a hulk in the early 1960s, writing about the mystery of the incident in his book The Joyita Mystery (1962). The ship had been lost at sea only to reappear five weeks later after a massive search found nothing, without crew or passengers, and with four tons of cargo missing.
He wrote his candid, critically acclaimed, autobiography, Escape from the Shadows and then a sequel, Search for Nirvana which he dedicated to his last companion William Lawrence who travelled with him on his search and who assisted him with his work.
- Publisher : McGraw Hill
- Publication date : January 1, 1973
- Edition : First Edition
- Language : English
- Print length : 273 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0070409692
- ISBN-13 : 978-0070409699
- Item Weight : 1.4 pounds