Maugham, W. Somerset (William Somerset) 1874-1965 creator text utu 2026 monographic en 1 online resource : multiple file formats Cakes and Ale, or, The Skeleton in the Cupboard (1930) is a novel by the British author W. Somerset Maugham. Maugham exposes the misguided social snobbery levelled at the character Rosie Driffield, whose frankness, honesty, and sexual freedom make her a target of conservative opprobrium. Her character is treated favourably by the book's narrator, Ashenden, who understands that she was a muse to the many artists who surrounded her, and who himself enjoyed her sexual favours. Maugham drew his title from the remark of Sir Toby Belch to Malvolio in William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night: "Dost thou think, because thou art virtuous, there shall be no more cakes and ale?" Cakes and ale are also the emblems of the good life in Joseph Jacobs' 1912 rendition of Aesop's fable of "The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse": "Better beans and bacon in peace than cakes and ale in fear." In his introduction to a Modern Library edition, published in 1950, Maugham wrote, "I am willing enough to agree with common opinion that Of Human Bondage is my best work ... But the book I like best is Cakes and Ale ... because in its pages lives for me again the woman with the lovely smile who was the model for Rosie Driffield." (This summary is from Wikipedia.) Wikipedia page about this book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cakes_and_Ale Release date is 2026-05-22 Produced by: Al Haines, Cindy Beyer & the online Distributed Proofreaders Canada team at http://www.pgdpcanada.net Originally published: New York: Triangle Books, 1930 Authors -- Fiction England -- Fiction Domestic fiction Married people -- Fiction Biographers -- Fiction Authors' spouses -- Fiction PR New York: Triangle Books, 1930 https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/78723 https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/78723 UtSlPG 260607 20260610134827.0 78723