The Trembling of a Leaf by W. Somerset Maugham. Short summary

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A series of short stories that includes such works as «McIntosh,» «Red,» «Pacific,» «The Fall of Edward Barnard,» «The Waterhole,» «Honolulu,» and others.

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The story «McIntosh» refers to the administrator of the island, Walker, who has held his post for a quarter of a century. Mr. Mackintosh arrives on the island and becomes his assistant. A rivalry begins between the characters; Mackintosh hates his boss and wishes someone would teach him a lesson.

The piece «Redhead» is about a skipper nicknamed «Redhead.» He returns to the island he first visited when he was 20 years old. Here he fell in love with a native girl, Sally. Soon the couple were married. One day Red went to the ship to exchange goods with the sailors and never returned.

The protagonist of the story, «The Waterhole,» is a Briton named Lawsen who falls in love with a young islander woman from the island of Samoa. Although his comrades do not approve of his choice, he marries his beloved. After the birth of a child, the couple left for Scotland, but Ethel could not live there because she was drawn to her homeland. One day she ran away from her spouse with the child.