Re: My instincts are similar..
"If I had a pretty little wife I shouldn't let her spend a year in New york while I stayed in Kobe," said he.Ah, Maugham, one of the last century's most gifted miniaturists. As a know-all myself I know and cherish the story you mention. I have a rather handsome two-volume set of "The Complete Stories" on my bedside bookshelf. He appears to have been, if not actually forgotten, largely relegated to the minors these days, another writer for whom posthumous obscurity followed contemporary renown. He deserves better. I can remember my junior high school "social studies" teacher telling the class that Maugham had died, and then looking a bit depressed as thirty shining faces looked back at him in perfect incomprehension. You might enjoy, if you don't know it, Anthony Burgess' Earthly Powers, the narrator and protagonist of which seems rather clearly modeled on WSM.
My contact at the nonprofit has written back to say that we are to wait until we have heard from the erstwhile graduate of C******* State University, who she contrives to suggest, without actually saying so, is by way of being a bit of a beast. It was intimated that any discussion would rapidly turn unpleasant. Well, she was copied in on the original message/threat I received from Javert, and is perhaps even now arranging for him to be tracked down and killed. It will be interesting to see how this turns out.
cordially,