The Moon and Sixpence, one of Maugham's best-known and loved novels, is a fictionalized biography of the artist Paul Gauguin. The stand-in character for Gauguin is Charles Strickland who deserts his wife and children to become a painter. In Paris, he is indifferent to the friendship offered by a fellow artist, Dirk Stroeve; but it is Stroeve and his wife Blanche who take Strickland in when he falls ill. Strickland again devastates those around him by running away with Blanche, who has fallen in love with him. In reality, he has no use for Blanche except as the model for a painting and upon the painting's completion, abandons her as well. The Moon and Sixpence is one of Maugham's most enduring character studies, it has been read and enjoyed for generations.

威廉·萨默塞特·毛姆（William Somerset Maugham,1874 -1965)，英国小说家，剧作家，被誉为“故事圣手”。

生于巴黎，十岁前父母双亡，由叔叔接回英国抚养，因身材矮小，说话结巴，总被同龄人欺凌，性格孤僻敏感。

18岁在伦敦学医，后弃医从文。23岁时发表首部小说《兰贝斯的丽莎》，从此走上文学创作的道路。人生经历奇特，他做过助产，做过间谍，做过演员，做过救护车司机；他做过丈夫，做过情人，拒绝过女人的求婚，他的求婚也被另一个女人拒绝；他自称“四分之三喜欢女人，只有四分之一喜欢男人”。

在文学界，毛姆是一个优雅、老到、冷漠的人性观察者，几乎每一个人都能在他的故事中看到自己，这也让毛姆成为二十世纪炙手可热的作家。

他的后半生住在一座仙境般的别墅里，晚年几乎获得了整个欧洲文学界的一切殊荣。91岁时，逝于法国。

经典代表作：《月亮与六便士》《人性的枷锁》。