The Moon and Sixpence"Witty, compelling." — The Boston Globe. Gripped by an overwhelming obsession, Charles Strickland, a conventional London stockbroker, decides in midlife to desert his wife, family, business, and civilization for his art. One of Maugham's most popular works, The Moon and Sixpence is a riveting story about an uncompromising and self-destructive man who forsakes wealth and comfort to pursue the life of a painter. Drifting from Paris to Marseilles, Strickland eventually settles in Tahiti, takes a mistress, and in spite of poverty and a long, terminal illness, produces his most passionate and mysterious works of art. Loosely based on the life of Paul Gauguin, Maugham's timeless masterpiece is storytelling at its best — an insightful work focusing on artistic fixation that propels the artist beyond the commonplace into the selfish realm of genius. |
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absinthe answered Anton Chekhov Arthur Conan Doyle artist asked Avenue de Clichy beauty Blanche Stroeve Captain Nichols Charles Strickland Colonel MacAndrew colour comfort Coutras damned dinner Dirk Stroeve door E. M. Forster emotion Europe or United excited eyes face fancy feel felt fool francs friends Fyodor Dostoyevsky gave girl give hands heard heart husband imagine impression indifferent island Jack London Jane Austen knew laugh looked married mind natives never night Oscar Wilde painter painting Papeete pareo Paris passion perhaps played remembered Richard Twining round seemed seen shoulders shrugged silent smile sometimes soul speak STORIES strange street Strick Strickland lived Stroeve's studio suddenly suppose sympathy Tahiti talk tell there's thing thought Tiaré told took Tough Bill United Kingdom walked Waterford wife woman women wondered word