Syrie Maugham

Acanthus Press celebrates the publication in April 2010 of 'Syrie Maugham: Staging the Glamorous Interior' by author, lecturer, and authority in the preservation and restoration of late 19th and early 20th century American interiors, Pauline C. Metcalf. Maugham - trendsetter, fashion maven, and wife of internationally-renowned novelist, Somerset Maugham - created a world of ultra-chic style and elegance that was uniquely Syrie. With verve and flair, Metcalf takes the reader on a transatlantic voyage, from the drawing rooms of Mayfair to the interiors of New York, Chicago, and Hollywood as Syrie refines her famous 'all-white room' style of the 1920s. With over three hundred photographs and illustrations, 'Syrie Maugham' profiles the decorator's international clientele that included European aristocrats, American socialites, and Broadway stars who discovered in Syrie's blend of traditional elegance and the Style Moderne - console tables floating on dolphin bases, fringed sleigh beds, leather dining chairs, sheep skin rugs and miles of mirrors - a perfect expression of their own joie de vivre.