The moon and sixpence

First published in 1919, The Moon and Sixpence was inspired by the life of the French post-Impressionist painter Paul Gauguin. Somerset Maugham crafted the narrative around Charles Strickland, a middle-aged London stockbroker who abruptly abandons his family and conventional life to pursue his obsession with painting in Paris and Tahiti. The novel serves as a meditation on the cost of artistic genius and the tension between social responsibility and the internal compulsion to create.

Maugham wrote the book during a period of transition in his career, following his success as a playwright and his experiences working for British intelligence. His detached, observant prose style was well-suited to the objective narrator who tells Strickland’s story. Upon its release, the novel received significant attention for its unflinching portrayal of an abrasive, uncompromising artist, and it remains a staple of early twentieth-century literature regarding the nature of the creative spirit.