This is the story of an unremarkable man leading an unremarkable existence who suddenly turns his back on everything to live life as an artist—without artifice or apology. A classic English novel. One of W. Somerset Maugham’s best works, it was inspired by the life of French painter, Paul Gauguin who himself moved from the churning streets of nineteenth-century Paris to the beaches of exotic Tahiti in lustful indulgence of his own artistic passions. :::: This updated electronic edition (carefully formatted and edited) also includes seventeen color plates of artwork by Paul Gauguin, from the extensive collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. The selections have been captioned with passages from the book and include paintings, woodblock prints and pages from the artist’s sketchbook.
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