Guys like Gauguin, Writers and Artists in 1920s Tahiti

In this talk Simon Keable-Elliott discusses his new book Guys like Gauguin, Writers and Artists in 1920s Tahiti which will be published in August 2026.

Simon’s book is the first attempt to detail the lives of the 20 or so writers and artists who settled in Tahiti during the 1920s and to ask why Tahiti, of all the islands in the South Pacific, was the only one to attract so many.  He begins by considering how Tahiti acquired and maintained its ‘paradise’ island reputation through books and paintings produced between the 1760s and 1914. He then looks at the Tahiti craze of the early 1920s with South Sea movies, books and articles and the beginning of mass tourism. The remainder of the book deals with the, often extraordinary, lives of the men and women who arrived on the island to write or paint less than 20 years after the death of Gauguin. 

Simon's grandparents Robert and Jolie Keable moved to Tahiti in 1922, and they knew many of the characters covered in his book. Using letters, newspaper articles, books, interviews with relatives and visits to Tahiti he has pieced together the lives of the writers and artists who settled on Tahiti or the nearby islands in the 1920s.

In July 2021 Simon took early retirement following 25 years as a secondary school politics teacher, and he now works as a full-time writer and lecturer. His first book, Utterly Immoral, Robert Keable and his scandalous novel was published in November 2022. He introduced the book at a number of literary festivals and literary events in 2023.

Thank you so much for coming to speak - our members loved your talk! Sherborne Literary Society Events Director

Simon spoke at literary festivals in Ilminster, Sherborne and Penzance about his book Utterly Immoral. To see a list of talks and lectures Simon is due to give please visit his events page: https://simonkeableelliott.com/events/

If you require any further information, please do email Simon, [email protected], or use the contact page to send a message.