William Somerset Maugham CH ( ; 25 January 1874 – 16 December 1965), better known as W. Somerset Maugham, was a British playwright, novelist and short story writer.
 He was among the most popular writers of his era and reputedly the highest-paid author during the 1930s.
W. Somerset Maugham (1874 – 1965) was a British playwright, novelist and short story writer.
 Born in the British Embassy in Paris, where his father worked, Maugham was an orphan by the age of ten.
 He was raised by an uncle, who tried to persuade the youngster to become an accountant or parson; Maugham instead trained as a doctor, although he never practised professionally, as his first novel, "Liza of Lambeth", was published the same year he qualified.
The Somerset Maugham Award is a British literary prize given each May by the Society of Authors.
 It is awarded to the best writer or writers of a book published in the past year who is under the age of 35.
 The prize was instituted in 1947 by William Somerset Maugham and thus bears his name.
 The award is to be spent on foreign travel.
 The total fund for each year is £12,000.
Madeleine L'Engle ( ; Camp, November 29, 1918 – September 6, 2007 ) was an American writer who wrote young adult fiction, including "A Wrinkle in Time" and its sequels: "A Wind in the Door", "A Swiftly Tilting Planet", "Many Waters" and "An Acceptable Time".
 Her works reflect both her Christian faith and her strong interest in science.
A Ring of Endless Light is a 2002 Disney Channel Original Movie based on the Madeleine L'Engle book of the same name filmed on location in Australia, and starring Mischa Barton in the main lead role.
 It is one of two Disney adaptations of novels by Madeleine L'Engle, the other being "A Wrinkle in Time".
 In the U.S. it was aired on August 23, 2002.
Sir John Arnold Wallinger (25 October 1869 – 7 January 1931) was a British Indian intelligence officer who led the prototype Indian Political Intelligence Office from 1909 to 1916.
 He was also the literary prototype of the spymaster of a number of Somerset Maugham's short stories.
 Wallinger is credited with leading the Indian intelligence missions outside India, notably against the Indian Anarchist movement in England, and later against the Berlin Committee and the Hindu-German Conspiracy during World War I.
 Among his more famous agents was Somerset Maugham, whom he recruited in London and sent as a secret agent to Switzerland.
The Razor's Edge is the first film version of W. Somerset Maugham's 1944 novel of the same name.
 It was released in 1946 and stars Tyrone Power, Gene Tierney, John Payne, Anne Baxter, Clifton Webb, Herbert Marshall, with a supporting cast including Lucile Watson, Frank Latimore and Elsa Lanchester.
 Marshall plays Somerset Maugham.
 The film was directed by Edmund Goulding.
The Small Rain is a semi-autobiographical novel by Madeleine L'Engle, about the many difficulties in the life of talented pianist Katherine Forrester between the ages of 10 and 19.
 Published in 1945 by the Vanguard Press, it was the first of L'Engle's long list of books, and was reprinted in 1984.
 L'Engle began work on it in college, and completed it while an actress in New York.
Robert Lorin Calder, a Canadian writer and professor, won the Governor General's Award for English-language non-fiction in 1989 for his "Willie: The Life of W. Somerset Maugham", a biography based on extensive archival work and interviews with surviving associates of Maugham, in particular Alan Searle.
 Unlike Ted Morgan, who had obtained permission from Maugham's executors to publish from Maugham's letters in his biography (1980), Calder was refused permission to do so by the Royal Literary Fund and had to rely on paraphrase in referencing Maugham's unpublished correspondence.
Trio (also known as W. Somerset Maugham's Trio) is a 1950 British anthology film based on three short stories by W. Somerset Maugham: "The Verger", "Mr. Know-All" and "Sanatorium".
 Ken Annakin directed "The Verger" and "Mr. Know-All", while Harold French was responsible for "Sanatorium".

Question: Which author rose to popularity first, W. Somerset Maugham or Madeleine L'Engle?
Answer: W. Somerset Maugham