02189nam a2200289 i 4500003000400000005001700004008004200021020003900063040002500102082001500127100003500142245004000177264003800217264001100255300002300266336002100289337002500310338002300335504004000358520123700398600006901635650003101704650003801735651007801773655002501851655002301876OSt20240207120626.0240115t20232023stk    erb    000 f eng d   a9781838858308cRM107.90qpaperback  aPPAKbengcPPAKerda04223a823.921 aTan, Twan Eng,d1972-eauthor.10aThe House of Doors / cTAN TWAN ENG 1aEdinburgh : bCanongate, c[2023] 4c©2023  a306 pages ;c23 cm  atext2rdacontent  aunmediated2rdamedia  avolume2rdacarrier  aIncludes bibliographical references  a"It is 1921 and at Cassowary House in the Straits Settlements of Penang, Robert Hamlyn is a well-to-do lawyer and his steely wife Lesley a society hostess. Their lives are invigorated when Willie, an old friend of Robert's, comes to stay. Willie Somerset Maugham is one of the greatest writers of his day. But he is beleaguered by an unhappy marriage, ill-health and business interests that have gone badly awry. He is also struggling to write. The more Lesley's friendship with Willie grows, the more clearly she see him as he is - a man who has no choice but to mask his true self. As Willie prepares to leave and face his demons, Lesley confides secrets of her own, including how she came to know the charismatic Dr Sun Yat Sen, a revolutionary fighting to overthrow the imperial dynasty of China. And more scandalous still, she reveals her connection to the case of an Englishwoman charged with murder in the Kuala Lumpur courts - a tragedy drawn from fact, and worthy of fiction. From Man Booker Prize-shortlisted Tan Twan Eng, The House of Doors is a masterful novel of public morality and private truth a century ago. Based on real events it is a drama of love and betrayal under the shadow of Empire."--cPublisher's website10aMaugham, W. Somerset,q(William Somerset), d1874-1965 vFiction10aAuthors, English vFiction20aInterpersonal relations vFiction00aPinang Island (Pulau Pinang, Malaysia) xHistory y20th century vFiction 7aBiographical fiction 7aHistorical fiction