Ashenden or the British Agent - Hardcover

Maugham, W. Somerset

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0434456055 ISBN 13: 9780434456055

Publisher: Shakespeare House, 1951

Synopsis

Fact is a poor story-teller as Maugham reminds us. Fact starts a story at random, rambles on inconsequently and tails off , leaving loose ends, without a conclusion. It works up to an interesting situation, has no sense of climax and whittles away its dramatic effects in irrelevance. While some novelists believe this is a proper model for fiction, Maugham believes that fiction should not seek to copy life, but instead choose from life what is curious, telling, and dramatic, but keep to it closely enough not to shock the reader into disbelief. In short, fiction should excite, interest, and absorb the reader.

Ashenden: The British Agent is founded on Maugham's experiences in the English Intelligence Department during World War I, but rearranged for the purposes of fiction. This fascinating book contains the most expert stories of espionage ever written. For a period of time after it was first published the book became official required reading for persons entering the secret service.

The plot follows the imaginary John Ashenden who during World War I is a spy for British Intelligence. He is sent first to Geneva and later to Russia. Instead of one story from start to finish, the chapters contain individual stories involving many different characters. All of the people whom Ashenden meet during his travels have their own reason for being involved in the spy game, and each are more complex than they first look.

About this title

About the Author:

W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965) was an English novelist and playwright. Maugham was famous as a dramatist before he was known for his novels and short stories. His clarity of style, the perfection of his form, and the subtlety of his thought, thinly veiled by a worldly cynicism made him an international figure. Among his novels are Of Human Bondage, The Moon and Sixpence, and The Razor’s Edge.

Review:

"The most persuasive espionage fiction" New York Times "The first spy story written by someone who had been there and done that. A humane and compassionate antidote to two-fisted, square-jawed heroes battling dastardly foreigners. The head of British Intelligence is known only as "R", anticipating James Bond's "M" by a quarter of a century" The Times "Thoughtful spy novels began with Somerset Maugham's Ashenden, featuring a detached hero on a journey to disillusion, a process brought to its apotheosis by le Carre via Greene" Daily Telegraph "A collection of stories so accurate that Churchill ordered the destruction of 14 of them, while Russian intelligence immediately set up a special unit to read British spy novels for clues" --New Statesman

About this edition

• Publisher: Shakespeare House
• Publication date: 1951
• ISBN 10: 0434456055
• ISBN 13: 9780434456055
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 304