The Merry-Go-Round

One of Maugham's rare experiments with form, The Merry-Go-Round is a trio of stories that portrays a wide spectrum of life in the backstreets, suburbs and society off Edwardian London. Sharply depicting all the weighty power of convention and the complexity of social interaction, the stories are linked by one of his most endearing characters. It is through the shrewd eyes of Miss Ley, a delightfully witty and independent spinster, that the reader sees a chaotic vision of human love and reason: the daughter of a Dean's brief but happy marriage to a dying poet; a woman whose adulterous passion for a young rogue serves to make her a more sympathetic wife; and - a favourite idea of Maugham's - an honourable man's decision to take a virtue to extremes.