num_pages: 176
description: "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.
language: English
title: The Moon and Sixpence
titlecomplete: The Moon and Sixpence
characters: Dirk Stroeve, Blanche Stroeve, Charles Strickland
genres: 20th Century, Art, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction, Novels, Literature, Classics, British Literature, Fiction, France
ratings_count: 23405
places: Paris, London, England, Tahiti
publisher: Dover Publications