About Alan Searle
Lived 1905 – 1985 (aged 79–80). Alan Searle was a British writer.
Alan Searle (1905–1985) became the private secretary and companion of W. Somerset Maugham following the death of Gerald Haxton in 1944. He took up residence at Maugham's villa on the Riviera and remained with him until Maugham's death in 1965.
Maugham first met Searle in 1928, when Searle was "a very youthful looking twenty-three, a working class boy from Bermondsey, the son of a Dutch tailor and cockney mother". He was the lover of several famous older men, including Lytton Strachey, who called Searle his "Bronzino boy".
Searle developed an antagonistic relationship with Maugham's daughter, Liza. In his final years, Maugham made an unsuccessful attempt to disinherit his daughter and to adopt Searle as his son.
Following Maugham's death, Searle went into retirement in Monte Carlo. He was interviewed by the scholar Robert Calder when Calder was writing his biography of Maugham. Searle died in 1985.
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Important facts
People in Alan Searle's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Alan Searle's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Alan Searle?
private secretary and companion of W. Somerset Maugham (1905–1985)
When was Alan Searle born?
Alan Searle was born in 1905.
When did Alan Searle die?
Alan Searle died in 1985.
What was Alan Searle's occupation?
Alan Searle was a writer.
What nationality was Alan Searle?
Alan Searle was British.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Alan Searle. https://biography.guide/alan-searle/
MLA: "Alan Searle." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/alan-searle/.
Chicago: "Alan Searle." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/alan-searle/.
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