W. Somerset Maugham

Human nature and sexuality are not easy to overcome, to say the least. Anyone who has tried to uphold beliefs and ideals that went against the nature of what their own bodies would require - from nourishment to sex, and everything in between - failed quite miserably. This is precisely the point that W. Somerset …

Then and Now is a historical novel by W. Somerset Maugham. Set in Florence, Italy during the Renaissance, the story focuses on three months in the life of Niccolo Machiavelli, the Florentine politician, diplomat, philosopher and writer in the early years of the 16th century. The book was first published by Heinemann …