Books

"The Painted Veil" by W. Somerset Maugham. London: William Heinemann, 1925 first UK edition, inscribed by Maugham in black ink to front free endpaper 'To John & Maisie de la Valette, from their old friend W. S. Maugham', with additional gift inscription in black ink from John de la Valette to Diana Kilby beneath, a few light spots, original blue cloth gilt, lightly rubbed, third state. Inscribed copies of the British trade edition are scarce. This copy a third state with the cancel title and 26 titles half-title verso.

'The Painted Veil' is a novel by W. Somerset Maugham set in the 1920s. It encompasses themes of love, betrayal, and redemption in the midst of a cholera epidemic in a Chinese mainland setting, focusing on the character Kitty Fane and her journey towards self-discovery and personal liberation.