THE COLONEL'S LADY, A Short Story by Somerset Maugham 

How many husbands out there fully unaware of their ladies' deep universe... Quite a lot I can imagine😢

He clearly hasn't a clue of the incredible woman he has & never appreciated. And who's to say she was the reason they didn't have children....

A wonderful construct, to create a portrait of a remarkable woman entirely through the impressions of a hopelessly empty husband.

He has no idea about Evie. None. He doesnt deserve her. He never has. He never will.

Somerset Maughan never disappoints. So perfectly written. A master of the short story.

Having left my 14yr marriage not long ago, I know what it means to grieve that lost love so much it tears your soul apart, sadly beautiful story

Spellbinding! The irony of him setting off to London periodically for a "bit on the side", when sitting across the table from him every day was this passionate, sexual creature that had been awakened by the attentions of another man.... and he was utterly oblivious to her. Wow!

Ol' George is a typical, self-absorbed man of that time. By God, she's HIS woman and should have no life beyond the narrow confines which HE has determined, i.e. a life devoted to HIS comfort and well being, existing only as an appendage to him. He's a dull, unimaginative human being. The way Maugham slowly and carefully revealed his nature was masterful.

This was a great story , thank you for putting this on RU-vid for us to enjoy.

I'm of two thoughts: (1) I believe Evie wrote of the love affair between she and her young husband 20 plus years ago and how she shone with life from the warmth of his early love and respect. There are many ways to die and the Colonial clearly painted the story of his bitter death from his wife. (2) What did the lover see in her? 🌹He saw in her the woman who bloomed under the warmth of his loving respect and admiration. Quite different from the woman who, like an untended rose, withers under the lack of loving care from her husband.🥀

George did not be deserve his wife. So many men seem so superficial. If a woman is not beautiful men seems so dismissive. So many men never bother to go past the surface appearance.

The narrator has a beautiful voice, thank you..

So many people like that. So self absorbed, so blind to others. I love Maugham so much!!!

"He had no objection to her reading them." She must have been so terribly disappointed in him.

Oh, Colonel, can't you see the boy she loved, the boy she lost, the boy who died & turned into a responsible man .. can't you see

To live with a husband that "died" long ago

Oh, my, this story touched me deeply I can just imagine endless breakfasts in the future. Thank you so much for this upload. Looking forward to many more. Never knew Maugham was such a great short story writer and so prolific.

“ What in the name of heaven did the fellow see in her”? Obviously what George Perigrin didn’t… what a waste of life

This has always been one of my favourite Maugham short stories. So heartbreaking.

SHE was way above his head. A lovely story. Colonel not thick as a brick but incapable of moving beyond his programming.

Sadly a tale of most aged miserable marriages.

Very good reflection on an older couple being on different paths & just jogging along for conventions sake, just being companionable, sad in a way

The beauty is always in the eye of the beholder

Colonel can't understand how to love passionately for Evie to be seen and truly loved.

Well, well, if you have to ask, you’ll never know. Great story! Thanks for posting!

I love Maugham's short stories. I think I've read them all more than once!

They both played their part, when George was having one night stands Evie had a young lover who actually loved her and she loved him passionately back. Bravo Evie! and who said that looks have anything to do with love and passion?

“What the devil do he ever see in her”? Something you ignored George

Moral of the story: never marry anyone unless you see something lovable in them that nobody else falls in love with. You have to be careful and not delude yourself, seeing things that are not there. It has to be something real that other people can know about and yet they don't fall in love with the person, and you do. A big clue is that both of you can speak to each other like you cannot speak to anyone else. If you have a conversation in which time flies, other people seem not interesting and you want the conversation never to end, that's the one. Marry that person and the conversation never does end. Marrying someone for a list of qualities they have, that tick all the boxes, is marrying a shopping list, not a person. You know its *the person* when you find the person you want to tell everything to, and the other person feels the same.

😢 What a jerk of a husband!

lyrical piano music - and it fits the story so beautifully. very poignant and interesting story. there must have been many women🌹 in similar circumstances - married to vain, empty man. 🥀

Maugham is admirable in the way he sees, understands and describes people. Such a great story and a wonderful narrator.

Masterpiece.

I remember that the story went a bit further with an interesting revelation at the end...anyone else? A pleasure to listen to. Thank you ❤

Absolutely enjoyed the story! Thank you.

What a beautiful, marvellous story, so many layers.

Oh, this was a delight to listen to! Thank you….

Excellent short story!!!!

I would advise all of you who found the ending, as presented here, to read the story for the real ending by S Maugham. It makes far more sense.

Now I am hooked! Listening to all of them, can tha you enough!

The affair was actually with George himself…She was remembering the earlier days of love shared with him. It makes sense, both as a possible plot of the story or if the author meant it to be literal. The culture of that time would not look kindly to a wife’s adult story . The sad thing universally to this day is communication, honesty, selflessness, and sharing in a marriage. Most people lack these skills and don’t work hard enough to develop their marriage.

Thank you for such beautifully rendered read.

What a treat to listen to a story written by Somerset Maugham! Thank you 🤗

❤as my eyesight dims, it is great to just listen to a good yarn.

I am attracted to this story by the photo and the narrator's voice. I strongly think that the young man was the young George. They fell in love, got married and years later, Evie's George 'died'. Their love died.

Thank you so much for sharing, Loved this story. Love Maugham ❤❤❤❤❤🙏

Reading these poignant stories using AI is wasting their beauty. I'll read them for you.

Wow. Evie was passionate and beautiful inside and out. Something, her husband, could never understand. Funny, it was ok for him to have his extra marital affair, but not Evie, he will forever know, that Evie may of found love even briefly and he never.

From Trinidad and Tobago love the story, thank you.

I love Sommerset Maugham! I loved this short story called Flotsam and Jetsum

The marriage continued , a little bit strained , but i daresay they were comfortable with each other and what more can you ask for , in this world ?

His last sentence sums up very nicely why she had an affair. "Whatever did he see in her?" What YOU didn't, m'lad.

Sumerset Maugham was the master of short stories

I saw a short film of this. At the end she said, "It was you, George, it was you."

Always loved W. Somerset Maugham. Haven't read him since college almost 40 years ago.

I knew straight away that the golden, caring lover she'd had andost was the Colonel. I guess a lot of people never really talked in those days - and still don't today. Nor did they have marriage counselling to help them find each other again if they were willing. More's the pity.

Delicious and obscene 🎉 Finding your channel has been such a revelation and this story is easily one of my favorites😊 Thank You🌱🌺🙏

What a treat. Thank you.

The height of arrogance! The Colonel was the love who died and all that remained was his empty self 😔 42:24

What a deliciouslly intriguing story of hidden sin. But Evie, motivated by the indifference of her husband towards her might have created this story of adultery in her imagination. And with all the passion of a spurned woman, with vehement fluency, put her imagined liason with a younger man into poetry.

I first discovered Maugham as a precocious 13 year old, starting with Moon and Sixpence, and quickly read through his oeuvre, and revisiting them often through the years. Maugham was a keen observer of human behavior and motivation, giving him deep insight into the impact of the stratified society in which he lived upon the psychological development and trajectory of individual lives.

Love this story like many of Somerset Maugham's !!!!

In the days of Somerset Maughan, the only way the woman could prove that she wasn't barren was the fall pregnant to another man. Now we know that it's mostly the accountability of the male, the result of low or no sperm count as we now know that the sex of the child is due to the man.

Oh my goodness. Amazing. My Father loved Somerset Maughan and now I realise why.

Oh what pleasure of beautiful writing… And… what an immense gift having a solid advice back then versus running to a (doubtful abilities) therapist these days…

Besautifully written and read. ☮️

One of my most favourite writer of my youth.

W. Somerset Maugham the famous short story teller ‼️ I've read a whole load of them - many moons ago. Oh this Colonel, The absolute CONCEIT of some men is just beyond comprehensible 😮😮

It was probably his fault she didn't have children since he was unfaithful to her and his girlfriend was probably unfaithful to him, an easy way to get a disease that would make him sterile. And being a sportsman certainly doesn't guarantee understanding what pleases a woman, not that he might have thought about it. Why do men assume the promise of fidelity in marriage is just meanlngless words? A broken trust can never be repaired. Whether she actually had a lover or not isn't important. He will always worry about it and who she was writing about. His double standard was his undoing.

The husband is a bastard !she might not have appeal for him but She found someone who loved her just as she is!😌

Wow! I've only read Maugham's novels. In my studio sculpting, and listened to this. TY for putting these stories here! Amazing and as usual deeply understood, that human nature.

Maugham is an amazing writer. What a fabulous story and beautifully read as well. Bravo!

That was fantastic but coming from the man who wrote Of Human Bondage, I am not surprised. What a great story.

Tragic...it's been decades since studying Maughan. So many great stories.

Brilliant!! Enjoyed every moment from the first word to the last.🙏💙

He’s always been my favorite author !!😊

I find this story completely encouraging..whether real or made up..she finds happiness within her own world and success too..this success must have given her great happiness and tremendous confidence..

A wonderful story with a very sad ending.

This story was made into a film which included 3 of Maugham's stories, if I'm remembering correctly. It was made in the late 40's or perhaps early 50's. This one ended with the wife admitting it was about her husband and what they had shared in the past. I guess the movie maker (I think it was a British film) decided it had to have that tidied up ending for movie audiences.

Excellent, thank you for sharing!

Wonderful reading!

Thanks so much for sharing 💙💙💙

All through the story Maugham had me wanting to emphasize with George. But it took me all the way to the end to realize he projected his own clulessness onto his wife. That's why Maugham is one of my favorites.

Thank you for this story!

Thanks so much for sharing this. An exquisite reading by the way. My own late wife was older than l; some cast a jaundiced eye on our relationship. But it was bliss to us …

double standard

Wonderful work willie

What a great story. Thank you for reading and uploading

This one was excellently read , thank you . Great story

George’s last statement was like a physical blow to my senses, although we knew he’d never taken the time nor interest in who or what she Truely was, the hollow void of emotional connection, stark… made me gasp.

Just the right time / length of the story for one go!!!!!!!

thatwasa fascinating story. That man was so unaware of his own lack of sensitivity to say that he fidnt know whatthat young manfounfin his wife but at the same time not able to imagine his life without her. What a lack of introspection and ignorance about who he was.

“For the Colonel’s Lady and Judy O’Grady Are Sisters under Their Skins” The Ladies by Rudyard Kipling, written in 1896. The short story was published in Good Housekeeping, March 1946, so we must deduce Maugham had read the Kipling poem, and must have known comparisons between the two would be drawn as both are about the experience of wives of Colonels. Up until the 1960s opiates were common components of almost every household remedy, and wonder if Mrs Peregrine partook of a remedy or two and allowed her mind to drift into her fantasies to relieve her unfilfilled marriage. Peregrine falcon males are known to consume their own young; is this why wife is depicted as childless?.

Wonderful reading of a chef-d'œuvre. Thank you ❤

The story is so well recited.I wish to know the reader's name..

What a lovely story. ❤

Thank you so much for uploading. Poignant story written perfectly and read beautifully. Thank you again. ❤

Very good story, I enjoy it a lot.

Thank you for uploading this 😊

WONDERFUL