(1928) is a collection of linked stories by W. Somerset Maugham, based upon his experiences of wartime espionage in Switzerland (1915-16) and in Russia (1917). It is not Maugham’s best volume of short stories, but it is significant as a landmark of modern spy fiction, displacing the high drama of the adventure-thriller school (E. Phillips Oppenheim, John Buchan) with cooler intelligence, in both senses. The ironic realism with which Maugham presents the unglamorous routines of intelligence in
Ashendenlaid the foundations for a new realistic tradition in espionage fiction developed by Graham Greene, Len Deighton and John Le Carré. The stories are also notable for the first appearance of the Ashenden character, a professional author who strongly resembles…
1928 words
Citation: Baldick, Chris. "Ashenden: or The British Agent". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 28 May 2020 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=11450, accessed 13 December 2024.]