Ashenden, or, The British Agent

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I should say in fairness that I do really like a couple of the stories, 'Behind the Scenes', which paints a vivid picture of sexual obsession, and and the poignant last tale in the collection, 'Mr Harrington's Washing'. There are also memorable sections in some of the others, particularly when Maugham gets on to the theme of doomed passion, which he has a powerful way of describing. There are women who are betrayed, men who are betrayed and characters – lots of characters. I enjoyed it that not all the women were beautiful; rather many of them are interesting - and I think this shows Maugham's homosexuality in not being able to create a character that has "flings" Other reviewers have commented that this is more a series of short stories than a novel. What connects the stories is Ashenden's "voice", sardonic and restrained. Some of the incidents -- e.g. a woman's culinary choices and her political-economic views putting an end to an affair -- could only have happened in real life, because they seem hard to have been cooked up. Then there are the outlandish characters: the hairless Mexican, a rather unquiet American, a woman acrobat madly in love with a rebel that British Intelligence wants to kill... I would guess they were invented by adding layers on to people the writer met in his career as a spy. Ashenden is a fine book, filled with stories which Maugham handled with a mix of deadly earnest and levity. It is definitely not the edge-of-your-seat stuff of later spy thrillers in which the work of intelligence gathering often becomes life-threatening business, although Maugham makes crystal clear that there are risks involved in what Ashenden does. While his work is "evidently necessary," there is another side to it that comes with very human consequences, which are played out again and again throughout this novel. By the way, feel free to argue that it is not actually a novel -- we'll just agree to disagree on that point. Fascinating. As the prototype of the ‘cynical’ spy novel, it was ahead of its time. Read it and discover where John le Carré got his ideas from. Ashenden: The Movie

In each of his characters, he uncovers some emotional trait that may be absurd, and even be hysterically expressed, but which is nevertheless 'true' to our species. I was very impressed by this book. It was the first book I read by W. Somerset Maugham. Maugham's beautiful writing evokes the life of a spy and is based on his own spying experiences during World War 1.In the preface to Ashenden, Maugham wastes no time in revealing that this book is "founded on my experiences in the Intelligence Department during the war, but rearranged for the purposes of fiction." He later goes on to say that

the work of an agent in the Intelligence Department is on the whole extremely monotonous. A lot of it is uncommonly useless. The material it offers for stories is scrappy and pointless; the author has himself to make it coherent, dramatic and probable," Kathleen Kuiper, Cakes and Ale (novel by Maugham). Britannica.com, 2011. Accessed 23 November 2013. This contrasts strongly with mainstream spy novels, which are usually plot-led and often feature poorly drawn or clichéd characters. Many spy novelists could learn a lot about writing more varied and interesting characters by reading Ashenden. The missing stories Ashenden – Secret Agent 1914-1918: Mr. Harrington's Washing in five episodes, adapted and read by Roger Delgado, produced by George Angell. Part of the Book at Bedtime series. [27]

They kill, lose lovers, probably die, actually die or are left deeply depressed, either because some obligation creates a situation from which there is no escape or the necessary duty of others entraps them. In the 1950 anthology film Trio, Ashenden was played by Roland Culver in the third story called "Sanatorium". [6] Maugham was the real deal. This book (or rather, a collection of short stories) is based on Maugham's own experiences after being recruited as a spy during World War One. The best of them were dry and amusing but other than the final story I was never totally engaged. Normally with short stories, it is best for me to read one or two at time, but some of the stories were interlinked, so I don't think my memory would cope with that.

Through a series of interrelated short stories the reader gains an appreciation of Maugham's spying experiences. He is insightful about those he meets, their motivations, and the extent to which they might be friend or foe. Britannia, melyek valának fegyvereid, melyekkel egykoron igába hajtottad a világot? Hűvös ész, fanyar humor és kifogástalan társasági viselkedés a koktélpartikon. Ashendennek mindez megadatott, és még valamivel több is: a káprázatos emberismeret. Ami tulajdonképpen szakmai követelmény nála, hiszen civilben író a szentem, de kitör az első világháború, a haza pedig szolgálni hívja, berukkol tehát hírszerzőnek*. Hisz ki lenne jobb hírszerző, mint egy író? Mind a ketten információkkal és félinformációkkal (valósággal és fantáziával) dolgoznak, csak amíg egyikük elegyíti a kettőt, a másikuk szétválasztaná. Szóval Ashenden a kémek Paradicsomába, Svájcba kerül (meg később máshová is), és keveri-kavarja, miközben ilyen-olyan figurákkal hozza össze a sors. Tőrőlmetszett kémnovellák, így, akinek szíve központi bugyrában székel a cselszövevények iránti vágy, jó eséllyel szeretni fogja őket. Ugyanakkor Maugham erőssége nem a csűrés-csavarás, hanem a jellemrajz és az erkölcsi konfliktusok ábrázolása, úgyhogy kapunk egészen káprázatosan felskiccelt, komplex szereplőket meg feloldhatatlan morális dilemmákat is, mindezt egy finom, elegáns atmoszférába ágyazva. Alapvetően ez az atmoszféra az, amitől végig jó volt nekem a kötetben: a békebeli európaiság leheletét érezni benne, amire elviselhetetlen súllyal nehezedik a háttérben zajló világégés, az a világégés, ami aztán pozdorjává is zúzta a fenn említett békebeliséget. Úgy is felfoghatjuk tehát az írásokat, mint a Pax Britannica hattyúdalát, amit (talán) alá is húz, hogy az utolsó novella egy tüdőszanatóriumban játszódik.Every now and then, we find out that this secret agent is not a natural psychopath like 007 but one socially constructed entirely by war and empire. Cakes and Ale in ten episodes, abridgedand produced by Jane Marshall, read by Richard Pasco.Part of the Book at Bedtime series [22] His fame as a short story writer began with The Trembling of a Leaf, subtitled Little Stories of the South Sea Islands, in 1921, after which he published more than ten collections. His other works include travel books such as On a Chinese Screen, and Don Fernando, essays, criticism, and the autobiographical The Summing Up and A Writer's Notebook. The explanation seems perfectly satisfactory," said Ashenden.I have to admit, Maugham's writing is pithy! In fact, it is quite good. In this eclectic collection of interrelated stories based on the author's work in the British intelligence services of WWI, Maugham paints little sketches of the sometimes comic, sometimes horrific workaday details of a life in espionage. Ashenden– Secret Agent 1914-1918: Giulia Lazzari in five episodes, adapted by Marjorie Bilbow, produced byGeorge Angell and read by Roger Delgado. Part of the Book at Bedtime series. [26]