Up the Villa. Up at the Villa tells the story of a beautiful woman who, though she could have chosen at will from the highly eligible men who courted her, gives herself to a comparative stranger and tragedy follows... The book proved to be one of the most popular books Somerset Maugham ever wrote. The Pearl. It is a timeless and unforgettable novel sensitively told in simple and beautiful language. It is the story of a fisherman who found a pearl beyond price. With the peal, he hoped to buy peace and happiness for himself, his wife and their little son. Instead he found that peace and happiness are not to be purchased. They are, themselves, pearls beyond price.