Ashenden, Or: The British AgentAshenden: 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 meets during his travels have their own reason for being involved in the spy game, and each are more complex than they first look. |
From inside the book
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Page 114
... English ; it was good English , but not an Englishman's English , flowery and rather grandiloquent ; I wondered who was writing them . They seemed to be just ordinary love - letters , but they were by way of being rather hot stuff . It ...
... English ; it was good English , but not an Englishman's English , flowery and rather grandiloquent ; I wondered who was writing them . They seemed to be just ordinary love - letters , but they were by way of being rather hot stuff . It ...
Page 168
... English , by the way , or Amer- ican ? " " English , " said Ashenden . Ashenden was by nature a very shy person , and he had in vain tried to cure himself of a failing that at his age was unseemly , but on occasion he knew how to make ...
... English , by the way , or Amer- ican ? " " English , " said Ashenden . Ashenden was by nature a very shy person , and he had in vain tried to cure himself of a failing that at his age was unseemly , but on occasion he knew how to make ...
Page 173
... English , an expres- sion of faint interest for a moment chasing away the sullenness from her face . " I know Heidelberg very well . I was at school there for one year . " Her English was correct , but throaty , and the mouthing ...
... English , an expres- sion of faint interest for a moment chasing away the sullenness from her face . " I know Heidelberg very well . I was at school there for one year . " Her English was correct , but throaty , and the mouthing ...
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Common terms and phrases
agent Alix ambassador Anastasia Alexandrovna answer Ashen Ashenden felt Ashenden knew Ashenden looked Ashenden saw Ashenden thought asked Ashenden baroness bassador Bolsheviks Brindisi Byring Caypor chance Chandra Colonel course cried Delilah detective dine dinner door enden English everything eyes face Fafner feeling fellow fool France Fritzi gave Geneva German Giulia give glance Gustav Hairless Mexican hand Harrington head heart Herbert Witherspoon Holzminden hour humour lake laughed Lausanne Lazzari letter Lucerne married Mexican opened mind Miss King Monsieur morning neutral country never night notion O'Malley once opened Paris passport Petrograd play round Russian scrambled eggs seemed shoulders shrugged Sir Herbert sitting smile Somerville stood story Swiss Switzerland talk tell there's thing Thonon tion told took train turned Vladimir wait walked watched wife woman wondered word write