Where Somerset Maugham Set Out to China From…. Wyndham Street, Marylebone

Posted: May 19th, 2026 | No Comments »

I happened to be on Wyndham Street in Marylebone today passing by William Somerset Maugham’s old home. 

Maugham moved here just after WW1. He was newly married to Syrie and they had a daughter. But Maugham was of course gay and had already met his lifelong partner Gerald Haxton. Forced to choose the future of his life Maugham and Haxton travelled to Asia in 1919-20. Upon returning to Wyndham Street Maugham wrote On a Chinese Screen and his The Painted Veil, his two great China-related works. 

Wyndham Street and Maugham’s former home are also on the route of my Voicemap GPS walking tour Marylebone Garden Squares: From Village Green to Georgian Grandeur – https://voicemap.me/tour/london/marylebone-s-garden-squares-from-village-green-to-georgian-grandeur

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