Among Maugham's numerous stories and novels, many include the narrative persona, like that of The Razor's Edge, or an exotic setting and ironic conclusion like those of "Rain" (please see separate entry). "The Outstation" (1924), a story set in Borneo, narrates the experience of two Englishmen who staff a remote trading post and whose differing values and class backgrounds lead to conflict and strife. In "The Letter" (1926), the wife of a colonial plantation owner murders her English lover, but in a trial is acquitted because the jur y believes she acted in self-defense. In "The Colonel's Lady" (1946), an obtuse husband finally recognizes his wife's earlier infidelity but chooses to remain with her because he cannot imagine life without her.

"The Ant and the Grasshopper" (1924) and "The Facts of Life" (1939) deal with young men who reject conventional wisdom and common sense and through their independent spirits come out...