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 57
... telling you that I got into conversation on the train with a little woman who was coming to Lyons to see her mother ... tell you the truth I am nothing but a bundle of nerves and if I am with a person who is antipathetic to me I go all ...
... telling you that I got into conversation on the train with a little woman who was coming to Lyons to see her mother ... tell you the truth I am nothing but a bundle of nerves and if I am with a person who is antipathetic to me I go all ...
Page 254
... tell them straight and they could take it from him that the President of the United States would never permit an ... Tell him I don't understand a word he says and I don't want to understand . If the Russians want us to look upon them as ...
... tell them straight and they could take it from him that the President of the United States would never permit an ... Tell him I don't understand a word he says and I don't want to understand . If the Russians want us to look upon them as ...
Page 296
... tell me that that Russian minister was just making a fool of me ? " Ashenden shrugged his shoulders . " How can one tell what he was thinking of ? He may have a keen sense of humour and perhaps he thought it funny to sign a fifty ...
... tell me that that Russian minister was just making a fool of me ? " Ashenden shrugged his shoulders . " How can one tell what he was thinking of ? He may have a keen sense of humour and perhaps he thought it funny to sign a fifty ...
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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