The Painted Veil is a beautifully written affirmation of the human capacity to grow, to change, and to forgive.
Set in England and Hong Kong in the 1920s, The Painted Veil is the story of the beautiful but love-starved Kitty Fane. When her husband discovers her adulterous affair, he forces her to accompany him to the heart of a cholera epidemic. Stripped of the British society of her youth and the small but effective society she fought so hard to attain in Hong Kong, she is compelled by her awakening conscience to reassess her life and learn how to love.
Kitty Fane is a shallow, self-centered woman whose marriage in 1920s' Hong Kong is a sham. Her affair is discovered by her husband, a bacteriologist, and when her lover refuses to marry her, she sullenly agrees to travel to China with her husband during a cholera epidemic. Kate Reading does a phenomenal portrayal of Kitty, progressively evolving her weaknesses into real character strengths by way of hardship, loss, and regret. She creates the aura of a full-cast production, switching effortlessly between characters--from Kitty's arrogant lover to the French Mother Superior at the convent in China, where Kitty volunteers, to her broken-hearted husband. Elegant and thoughtful, Reading is a performance pro. B.J.P. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2007 Audies Award Finalist (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine
About the Author
William Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) was born in Paris, the son of a British embassy official, and grew up in England. He studied medicine and officially qualified as a doctor before turning to writing. One of the twentieth century’s most popular novelists, as well as a celebrated playwright, critic, and short-story writer, he also served as a secret agent for the British during World War I.
