The Moon and Sixpence Great Classics

The novel The Moon and Sixpence by W. Somerset Maugham, was published in 1919. It is based loosely on the life of artist Paul Gauguin, who became famous for his paintings in the "primitive" style. The story is told through first-person narration in an episodic structure that follows the protagonist, Charles Strickland. The narrator is a character named Crabbe, who knew Strickland for a few years before he left his family and his job as a stockbroker in England to pursue his artistic interests. The story comprises Crabbe's memories of Strickland, as well as those shared with him by people throughout Tahiti who knew Charles.