W. Somerset Maugham 
The Moon and Sixpence 

Based on the life of Paul Gauguin, 'The Moon and Sixpence’ is the story of Charles Strickland, an English banker who walks away from a life of privilege to pursue his passion to become a painter. Strickland leaves London for Paris and ultimately Tahiti. 'The Moon and Sixpence’ is the story of the demands that can be placed on a tortured artistic soul and the lives that it touches.