'She did not know what to say. She was undecided whether indignantly to assert her innocence or to break out into angry reproaches. He seemed to read her thoughts. "I've got all the proof necessary" '. Kitty Fane is the beautiful but shallow wife of Walter, a bacteriologist stationed in Hong Kong. Unsatisfied by her marriage, she starts an affair with Charles Townsend, a man whom she finds charming, attractive and exciting. But when Walter discovers her deception, he exacts a strange but terrible vengeance: Kitty must accompany him to his new posting in remote mainland China, where a cholera epidemic rages. First published to a storm of protest, "The Painted Veil" is a classic story of a woman's spiritual awakening.
The first and most autobiographical of Maugham's masterpieces. It is the story of Philip Carey, an orphan eager for life, love and adventure. After a few months studying in Heidelberg, and a brief spell in Paris as a would-be artist, he settles in London to train as a doctor where he meets Mildred, the loud but irresistible waitress with whom he plunges into a tortured and masochistic affair.
Por temor a que su hermana menor se case antes que ella, Kitty Garstin contrae matrimonio con un bacteriólogo que la adora pero de quien no está enamorada. Después de la boda, se trasladan a Hong Kong, donde ella conoce a Charlie Towsend, un inglés frívolo con quien será infiel a su marido. Descubierto el adulterio, y traicionada por Charlie, Kitty se verá obligada a seguir a su marido a una zona de China afectada por el cólera. En 2006 se estrenó en España una exitosa versión cinematográfica de El velo pintado, con Naomi Watts y Edward Norton en los papeles protagonistas. Uno de los autores clásicos de la narrativa inglesa de comienzos del siglo XX, traducido a docenas de idiomas.
