Cakes and Ale Audiobook By W. Somerset Maugham cover art

Cakes and Ale

or The Skeleton in the Cupboard

 Preview

$0.00 for first 30 days

Try for $0.00
Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.

Cakes and Ale

By: W. Somerset Maugham
Narrated by: Neil Hunt
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $17.19

Buy for $17.19

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

Cakes and Ale is a delicious satire of London literary society between the Wars. Social climber Alroy Kear is flattered when he is selected by Edward Driffield’s wife to pen the official biography of her lionized novelist husband, and determined to write a bestseller. But then Kear discovers the great novelist’s voluptuous muse (and unlikely first wife), Rosie. The lively, loving heroine once gave Driffield enough material to last a lifetime, but now her memory casts an embarrassing shadow over his career and respectable image. Wise, witty, deeply satisfying, Cakes and Ale is Maugham at his best.

"[Maugham] is a master for creating the appetite for information, of withholding it until the right moment, and then providing it surprisingly."—Evelyn Waugh

©1930 Doubleday & Company, Inc. (P)1987 Recorded Books Classics Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction Satire Witty Funny
All stars
Most relevant  
I loved the introduction. The sweep of the story, and the protagonist. Excellent characters and development

Story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Infidelity and inspiration during a writer's career are explored. A tragedy is revealed to be the cause of both.

A look at infidelity and the creative spark

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
but still gratifying. narration is a perfect match for the tale. a soothing, thoughtful listen. recommended.

Great character, a little slow towards the end

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Boring, boring, and then boring still. Let’s go over it one more time, this bores.

It stunk.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I was surprised to find this famous novel so boring! When I was young, I liked Somerset Maugham's stories set in the East, though they were pretty predictable: Upper class Brits without a clue. This book is obviously autobiographical and the author is coy about it. But, my big complaint is the huge numbers of cliches he uses. It's just amazing! Also infuriating! He also slows down the story with asides about Art and Beauty and Literature.

Trite

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Slow start with a weak end… perhaps I am missing, or perhaps I need to know about the Author before going in…?

Huh?

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.