W. Somerset Maugham

A young man struggling for self-realization, Philip Carey becomes caught in a destructive love affair with a waitress, in a novel about sexual obsession, self-discovery, and the complexities of human relationships.

First serialized in 1924 and published as a complete novel in 1925, "The Painted Veil" is the powerful novel of transgression and redemption by popular and prolific British author W. Somerset Maugham. "The Painted Veil" tells the story of the lovely and superficial Kitty Garstin and her unhappy marriage to Walter Fane, a quiet and honorable man. Kitty agrees to marry Walter not because she loves him, but because she fears being upstaged by her younger...

Of all Somerset Maugham's novels this is the most entertaining and arguably his best ever. Rosie is a barmaid with a heart of gold and a skeleton in her closet. Maugham's portrait of her makes his novel fairly glow with witty observations of the contemporary literary scene. Features Willie Ashenden, who resurfaces in Maugham's Ashenden.

Set in 1920's, after an affair a doctor and his wife learn the depth of their commitment to each other when they travel to China to deal with a cholera epidemic.

A famous actress in 1930's London becomes bored and tries to generate excitement in her life by taking a much younger lover.