A Razor-Sharp Insult

In The Razor’s Edge, Somerset Maugham comments on the intelligence of a socialite who has turned her back on an old friend, a friend who helped bring her the wealth and status she enjoys: “She could not help saying beastly things about even her intimate friends, but she did this because she was a stupid woman and knew no other way to make herself interesting. Since her slanders were repeated she was often not on speaking terms with the objects of her venom, but she gave good parties and most of them found it convenient after a while to forgive her.”