The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng

Gay's The Word Books of the Year 2023
LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2023. A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
A FINANCIAL TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR.  A NEW STATESMAN BOOK OF THE YEAR
A NEW YORKER BOOK OF THE YEAR.  A WASHINGTON POST BOOK OF THE YEAR

It is 1921 and at Cassowary House in the Straits Settlements of Penang, Robert Hamlyn is a well-to-do lawyer and his steely wife Lesley a society hostess. Their lives are invigorated when Willie, an old friend of Robert's, comes to stay, along with his lover Gerald Caxton.

Willie Somerset Maugham is one of the greatest writers of his day. But he is beleaguered by an unhappy marriage, ill-health and business interests that have gone badly awry. He is also struggling to write. The more Lesley's friendship with Willie grows, the more clearly she see him as he is - a man who has no choice but to mask his true self.

As Willie prepares to leave and face his demons, Lesley confides secrets of her own, including how she came to know the charismatic Dr Sun Yat Sen, a revolutionary fighting to overthrow the imperial dynasty of China. And more scandalous still, she reveals her connection to the case of an Englishwoman charged with murder in the Kuala Lumpur courts - a tragedy drawn from fact, and worthy of fiction.
-----
"Fascinating, engrossing and has given me infinite pleasure" -- Colm Tóibín