The Moon and Sixpence

The Moon and Sixpence is a biographical novel by William Somerset Maugham, first published in 1919. It is told by a first-person narrator in an episodic structure, and it follows Charles Strickland, a middle-aged English stockbroker who abruptly leaves his wife and children in order to pursue his desire to become an artist. The novel is partly inspired by the life of painter Paul Gauguin, but it is shaped as a literary portrait rather than a straightforward biography.

This is a good fit for readers who like character-driven fiction about obsession, self-reinvention, and the cost of breaking away from an ordinary life. Maugham’s approach is controlled and observant, with more attention to motive and temperament than to plot twists. If you tend to enjoy biographical novels and stories tied to art, identity, and unconventional choices, this one sits squarely in that space.