The Painted Veil Summary
W. Somerset Maugham

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The Painted Veil Summary & Study Guide

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The Painted Veil Summary

After basically ruining her marriage with an affair, Kitty accompanies her husband, Walter, to Mei-tan-fu, a Chinese province afflicted with a cholera epidemic. There, amid death and misery, Kitty sees in a convent of French nuns great examples of self-sacrifice and the kind of happiness she had always wanted.

Kitty, an Englishwoman, had been pressured from a young age to marry well by her mother, who tried to overcome her own...

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W. Somerset Maugham Biographies (9)

W. Somerset Maugham

4,624 words, approx. 16 pages

W. Somerset Maugham was one of the most prolific and popular authors in world literature. During a career that spanned sixty-five years, he attained great renown, first as a dramatist, then as the aut... Read more

William Somerset Maugham

499 words, approx. 2 pages

The British novelist William Somerset Maugham (1874-1965), one of the most popular writers in English in the 20th century, is noted for his clarity of style and skill in storytelling.Born in Paris, on... Read more

W(illiam) Somerset Maugham

12,149 words, approx. 41 pages

When William Somerset Maugham celebrated his seventh birthday in Paris, he received from Lady Anglesey, a family friend, a generous gift of twenty francs. Asked how he planned to use his money, young ... Read more

W(illiam) Somerset Maugham

3,438 words, approx. 12 pages

In a career spanning more than sixty years, W. Somerset Maugham wrote a handful of novels which are still studied as modernist works. His ear for language, the use of actual--sometimes grim--experie... Read more

W(illiam) Somerset Maugham

1,484 words, approx. 5 pages

Novelist, playwright, short-story writer, travel writer, autobiographer, and essayist, W. Somerset Maugham wrote only one collection of short stories that justifies his inclusion in any discussion o... Read more

W(illiam) Somerset Maugham

2,489 words, approx. 9 pages

Few modern writers have been as prolific or as versatile as William Somerset Maugham. He wrote twenty novels-the best of which are Of Human Bondage (1915), The Moon and Sixpence (1919), Cakes and Ale ... Read more

W(illiam) Somerset Maugham

5,742 words, approx. 20 pages

The most important events in the life of William Somerset Maugham were those over which he had no control. Like one of the characters in his fiction or drama, Maugham was dealt an imperfect hand. Cert... Read more

W(illiam) Somerset Maugham

4,327 words, approx. 15 pages

W. Somerset Maugham ranks among the most prolific, versatile, and successful British authors. Among his more than eighty books, five are usually classified as travel literature. The composition of the... Read more

William Somerset Maugham

3,784 words, approx. 13 pages

Biography EssayIn a career spanning more than sixty years, W. Somerset Maugham wrote a handful of novels which are still studied as modernist works. His ear for language, the use of actual—somet... Read more

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