Photo: Hulton Archives via Getty Images (c.1965)
Sample of authors
Charteris, Leslie
Leslie Charteris was born in colonial Singapore as Leslie Charles Bowyer-Yin. His father, Suat Chuan Yin, was a wealthy physician and company manager who claimed he was related to an ancient Chinese imperial family. Charteris' mother, Lydia Florence Bowyer, was English. Young Leslie was educated at home and on the many journeys he made with his parents; he claimed to have toured the world three...
Photo: 1929 Bassano/Camera Press / TT
Sample of authors
Maugham, W. Somerset
William Somerset Maugham was a British author born in Paris. His father was a lawyer at the British Embassy there. When Maugham was eight years old, his mother died of tuberculosis, two years later his father died of cancer and the boy was sent to live with his uncle, the Vicar of Whitstable in Kent. Maugham suffered from a serious stammer, he was shy and avoided speaking in public; unlike his...