The moon and sixpence by William Somerset Maugham
It is told in episodic form by a first-person narrator in a series of glimpses into the mind and soul of the central character, Charles Strickland, a middle-aged English stockbroker who abandons his wife and children abruptly to pursue his desire to become an artist.
The story is in part based on the life of the painter Paul Gauguin.
The book is written largely from the point of view of the narrator, a young, aspiring writer and playwright in London. Certain chapters entirely comprise accounts of events by other characters,
Plot Summary
- Early Life: Strickland is introduced as a seemingly ordinary middle-aged stockbroker with a wife and children in London.
- Radical Break: He suddenly abandons his family to pursue painting in Paris, shocking his acquaintances.
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Publication date:1919