The Moon and Sixpence (Dover Literature: Literary Fiction)

ISBN: 0486446026

Author: Maugham, W. Somerset

Condition: New

"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.