Maugham, W. Somerset: 1874-1965
The Moon and Sixpence, 1919 - Information about the Book
- General Information
- The story is, in part, based on the life of the painter Paul Gauguin. The novel's hero, Charles Strickland, is a London stockbroker who renounces his wife, children, and business in order to paint.
- Information from Wikipedia
- Facts
- The title comes from a reviewer's description of the protagonist in "Of Human Bondage" as being so absorbed in reaching for the moon that he doesn't notice the sixpence at his feet.
But why a sixpence?
In Great Britain, the bride traditionally wore ‘Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue and a silver sixpence in her shoe.’ The father of the bride would slip a sixpence into his daughter’s shoe before she walked down the aisle. The sixpence stood for good luck, and to show that the father wished his daughter prosperity in her marriage.
Information from The Royal Mint.
- The title comes from a reviewer's description of the protagonist in "Of Human Bondage" as being so absorbed in reaching for the moon that he doesn't notice the sixpence at his feet.
- Articles
- Review. "What’s refreshing about The Moon and Sixpence is that Maugham himself never succumbs to the obvious temptation, to seek to explain Strickland’s actions in abandoning his family and career."
- Strickland on "Tradition and the Individual Talent": Student paper, Vanderbilt University
- Drawing down the Moon. The Guardian; August 13, 2002
- Analysis