The Razor’s Edge. by Maugham, W. Somerset - 1944

Garden City, NY: Doubleday Doran & Company, 1944. First American edition, which precedes the British edition of Maugham's 20th-century manifesto for human fulfillment. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "For Mary, from her funny old partner, the author, W. S. M., May 5 1944." Additionally signed by Somerset Maugham in full on the title page. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket with light rubbing and wear. Signed trade editions are rare. "Written after much painstaking research into Eastern philosophy and mysticism, The Razor’s Edge is Maugham’s 20th-century manifesto for human fulfillment. In it he mercilessly satirizes American and European materialism, and holds up the figure of the spiritual seeker as a model for those searching for meaning in existence" (Stringer). It was twice adapted into film, first in 1946 starring Tyrone Power and Gene Tierney, and Herbert Marshall as Maugham and Anne Baxter as Sophie, and then a 1984 adaptation starring Bill Murray.