In his forties, Maugham settled in the village of Cap Ferrat on the French Riviera, the Mediterranean coast of France. The house, La Villa Mauresque – so named by him because of its North African origins - was built on a thickly wooded promontory, jutting out to the sea. It commanded a staggering view of the Mediterranean. A large squarish room, the lone structure on a broad flat roof, was his study. It afforded him the seclusion he wanted as he wrote. He retreated here every morning from 9.00 to 12.30. Writing was his life – ‘I have never been able to persuade myself that anything else mattered.’ He was a punctilious man.   He strictly adhered to three hours of writing every day, no less, no more, and wrote about 1000 – 1500 words daily. Every wall of the room had large French windows that framed the views of the blue Mediterranean and his lush terrace garden, but for the one facing his desk that had its windows shuttered to prevent distraction while writing.  Maugham spe...