Want to know more about the author of The Painted Veil? W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) one of the most prolific writers of the the 20th century, kept his personal life private. His most famous works include Of Human Bondage and The Razor's Edge. He lived a fascinating life- publicly living the high society life in England and the US and privately suffered anguish from keeping many dark secrets. Bibliographer Shelia Hastings is the first to have permission to quote from his private papers. The Secret Lives of Somerset Maugham is a must read for bibliophiles.

For all you movie lovers out there! Three movies have been based on The Painted Veil, W. Somerset Maugham's 1925 novel. See the most recent version's trailer of the Painted Veil starring Naomi Watts and Edward Horton. Greta Garbo and Herbert Marshall star in the 1934 version.I found some fun movie clips from this production on the TCM website. Read the New York Times Review from the December 7, 1934 by Andre Sennwald The Painted Veil (1934) December 7, 1934 THE SCREEN; Greta Garbo Makes Her Semi-Annual Screen Appearance in 'The Painted Veil,' at the Capitol and compare the 2007 review, A Plague Infects the Land, as Passion Vexes Hearts by MANOHLA DARGIS. A third version was released in 1957 called The Seventh Sin with Bill Travers and Eleanor Parker. The dramatic original trailer for this film can be found on the TCM website.