Reed Audio
2 total works
Cakes and Ale roused a storm of controversy when it was first published in 1930. It is both a wickedly satirical novel about contemporary literary poseurs and a skillfully crafted study of freedom. It is also the book for which Maugham wanted most to be remembered. From the Trade Paperback edition.
Inspired by the life of noted French painter Paul Gauguin, The Moon and Sixpence is the story of a rebellious stockbroker. Driven by passion, he decides to abandon civilization and convention in order to pursue his destiny as a painter in the South Pacific. In Charles Strickland, the main character, Maugham gives the reader a penetrating and fascinating study in personality with a savage truthfulness and an icy contempt for heroics and sentimentality.