W. S. Maugham’s “Don Fernando” – reflections on culture and creativity under the cover of his travel essays
https://doi.org/10.26907/2782-4756-2025-81-3-87-93
Abstract
The article is dedicated to the English writer W. S. Maugham’s works related to travel literature, which is very popular in his homeland. The phenomenon of travel has existed in English culture since ancient times. Maugham traveled a lot around the world, visited Spain more than 10 times, about which he wrote several books. The article pays special attention to the work “Don Fernando: Or Variations on Some Spanish Themes” of 1935. Formally, this book can be classified as a travelogue or a travel essay, it has some distinctive features of this genre, as well as others – historical and biographical essays, literary reviews and so on. However, the problems it raises are much broader – the development of thought and art in Spain over several centuries, especially the era of the so-called Golden Age. The central theme of the book is the theme of creativity –his notes on Spanish authors and reflections on writing in general make up a significant part of the book. The difference between a professional writer and an amateur, the genre of the novel, the creation of a character and persona, drama, painting – these are the issues that the Englishman first addresses in his reasoning.
About the Author
N. M. BulashovaRussian Federation
Bulashova Nataliia Mikhailovna, Ph.D. in Philology, Associate Professor in the Department of World Literature, 1/1 Malaya Pirogovskaya Str., Moscow, 119435;
Associate Professor in the Department of Slavic Philology, 23B Novokuznetskaya Str., Moscow, 115184
References
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Review
For citations:
Bulashova N.M. W. S. Maugham’s “Don Fernando” – reflections on culture and creativity under the cover of his travel essays. Philology and Culture. 2025;(3):87-93. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.26907/2782-4756-2025-81-3-87-93