The Painted Veil

The Painted Veil by W Somerset Maugham was first published in 1925. Kitty Fane lived with her husband, Walter, in Hong Kong. He was a bacteriologist dedicated to investigating, often exotic diseases. Kitty did not love Walter but had married him because her mother was convinced that Kitty would become an old maid. It was when Doris, Kitty's younger sister, announced that she was getting married that Kitty decided to marry Walter and travel with him to Hong Kong before her sister's wedding.

It was in Hong Kong that Kitty met Charles Townsend and their romantic relationship began. When Walter discovered what was going on he convinced Kitty to accompany him to a village in China where there was an outbreak of cholera. If she did not come with him he would divorce her. Kitty eventually decided to go to China with her husband.

In the novel vivid pictures of life in a Chinese village after the First World War are portrayed, especially when a deadly disease has invaded the village. Kitty soon forgets Charles and becomes involved in trying to help nuns in a local convent look after abandoned children. Meanwhile Walter spends hours from home treating patients with cholera during the day and investigating the causes of the disease in the evening.

Kitty made many bad decisions but eventually she gained an understanding of what really matters in life and relationships with people, including family. Much of the book is about the economic and social standing of members of a family or community. 

When first published, The Painted Veil caused an outrage among some readers for its portrayal of social attitudes at the time and descriptions of infidelity. Today this is unlikely to be a concern but the author's constant derogatory remarks about the Chinese and their lives in the village will concern many readers in the twenty-first century.

The title of the book, The Painted Veil, comes from a sonnet by Percy Byshee Shelley with the same name. The poet suggests that people hide their true selves under a veil of superficiality. A veil is not mentioned in the book. The sonnet begins:

Lift not the painted veil which those who live 

Call Life; though unreal shapes be pictured there, 

And it but mimic all we would believe 

With colours idly spread,—behind, lurk Fear 

And Hope, twin Destinies; who ever weave 

 Their shadows, o'er the chasm, sightless and drear. 

W Somerset Maugham has written a work about characters dealing with the challenges of life including duty, sacrifice and working out what is important in life.

The Painted Veil by W Somerset Maugham was one of the three short listed books for Monash University Alumni Book Club for May 2026.

Book review - The Painted Veil - Marjorie's Musings 

Book review - The Painted Veil - henry.kisor.com 

Book review - The Painted Veil - Roof Beam Reader

 

On Chesil Beach

July 1962 and Florence and Edward, who had been married in the morning, arrive to spend the beginning of their marriage at Chesil Beach in Dorset. Looming over both of them are fears involving the consummation of their marriage that evening. Florence and Edward come from different backgrounds, from very different families. They have become good friends and love each other but are they really ready for marriage?

In On Chesil Beach Ian McEwan provides an account of the thoughts and actions of the young couple on this important night in their young lives. Meanwhile the  reader discovers the back story of their different lives and how they accidentally met. 

The 1960s saw many changes in society, especially for younger people, but for Florence and Edward this was a future still to come. Decisions made at Chesil Beach would affect their lives, not just on that day but permanently. On Chesil Beach was published in 2007.

What We Can Know

The year is 2119 and much of England is flooded. Those who survived the Inundation and Derangement in the mid twentieth century have retreated to higher ground. Disaster occurred with the accidental dropping of a nuclear weapon into the ocean causing tidal waves flooding much of a world already threatened by rising sea water. Travel between the small islands was by boat and on land by bike. Before this catastrophe countries continued their wars, further developed nuclear weapons and climate change was imminent. Millions of people died and those left struggled to live a very different life.

Professor Tom Metcalfe works at the University of the South Downs where he attempts to interest students in history and literature, especially in the time period 1990-2030. He is also interested in discovering what happened to the only copy of a poem, A Corona for Vivien, written by Francis Blundy in 2014. He has set out to study all available sources about the poet and his wife.

In part one of What We Can Know by Ian McEwan we learn of events that led to the writing of the poem and the the party where Francis read the poem to the guests. We also get to know Tom Metcalfe and the extent to which he has researched the lives and work of Francis and Vivien Blundy.

In part two the reader has access to a copy of a manuscript written by Vivien Blundy where she provides an account of her life and relationships and reveals what happened to the poem. Tom Metcalfe had edited Vivien's manuscript for publication.

Much of What We Can Know is about how we treat history and evaluate life that occurred at other times. The author questions what we really know about the past, how much don't we know and how reliable are the sources. Many people are reluctant to learn about the past and accept how knowledge of past events may affect what happens in the future.

What We Can Know by Ian McEwan is a social commentary on life and how current events may affect our future. This is a novel that readers should set aside uninterrupted time to read.

The Proving Ground

Increasingly we hear of the possible effects of AI on people's lives. 

In  Michael Connelly's new novel, The Proving Ground, the plot evolves around the death of a teenage girl when her former boyfriend may have been encouraged by his AI friend to kill her. Mickey Haller, now working as a lawyer in the Civil Court, has taken on the case to prove that the company creating the AI chatbot had produced a program with many flaws. The murdered girl's mother wants the firm to publicly admit that their program was responsible for the death of her daughter.

The novel follows the challenges faced by Mickey Haller and his team as they collect the evidence and witnesses to present their case to court, despite obstruction from those opposing the case. The second part of the novel follows the trial. Michael Connelly has produced a crime novel relevant to changes currently occurring in society. It is also a great book to read.

Uproar!: Satire, scandal and printmakers in Georgian England

Alice Loxton has the knack of choosing an aspect of life to describe a particular time frame in British history. In Uproar! the author investigates the lives and works of artists and satirists, particularly Thomas Rowlandson (1757-1827), James Gillray (1756-1815), and Issac Cruikshank (1764-1811), who recorded aspects of British history in satirical caricatures. 

During the long reign of George III (1760-1820) artists created caricatures of people and events which were displayed in print shops to view and purchase. Some were compiled into books. Artists such as Rowlandson, Gillray and Cruikshank had the ability to quickly sketch a likeness of a person who was then portrayed in a satirical image. The images were then engraved on plates to be quickly printed, displayed and sold. 

This was the time of the American Revolution, the French Revolution, Napoleonic Wars, William Pitt the younger as prime minister dealing with a raucous opposition led by James Fox, the Gordon riots, industrial revolution, British abolition of the slave trade and the Regency period when the king was unable to rule. Plenty of material for the satirists to work with. However, by the Victorian period, attitudes had changed and the demand for the work of caricaturists had diminished. Eventually cartoons appeared in newspapers and magazines such as Punch and feature in daily newspapers today.

Uproar! provides a detailed account of the lives of the three main caricaturists in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. Copies of many of their caricatures appear throughout the book. Through telling the story of the lives of the artists, the author also provides an overview of life in Britain at the time including events in other parts of the world impacting on life in Britain. Detailed notes, a bibliography and index are at the back of the book. 

Question 7

In Question 7 Richard Flanagan weaves biography, history, memoir and historical fiction in one book. Some of the topics covered include the experiences of the author's father as a prisoner of war in Japan, Leo Szilard and the bombing of Hiroshima, relationship between H G Wells and Rebecca West, a look at the little known futuristic books by H G Wells including one on an atomic bomb, treatment of Indigenous peoples in Tasmania, rivers and near death experiences - snippets of his family story and observations on world events and life are all interwoven in one short book.

The title of the book, Question 7, is based on a question asked by Anton Chekhov in his story, Questions Posed by a Mad Mathematician.

This title was one of the books considered for possible discussion by the Monash Alumni Book Club in March 2026. 

Richard Flanagan Question 7 - Whispering Gums March 2024

Question 7 - ANZ LitLovers Lit Blog January 2024

Question 7 review - The Guardian November 2023

The atomic bomb and a near death experience ... - The Conversation November 2023

In the Time of Five Pumpkins

In the Time of Five Pumpkins is the 26th book in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith. Over the years I have enjoyed reading many titles in this series. My mother also enjoyed reading about the activities of Precious Ramotswe and her friends as they investigated activities that occurred in their neighbourhood.

A husband asks the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency to prove that his wife is cheating on him. Life then becomes complicated for the agency when the wife employs Precious to prove that her husband has been cheating on her. Precious' husband has an unwanted adventure when he goes fishing in a boat on a local dam. The locals are concerned as to when the rains will finally come and hopefully Mma Potokwani's pumpkins will grow. 

These are some of the concerns that feature in the latest installment in the series. Another pleasant, relaxing read about a small community in Botswana.