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 128
... tion to Ashenden as little as possible , an agent from the police - station came to see him . His name was Felix . He was a little dark Frenchman with sharp eyes and an unshaven chin , dressed in a shabby grey suit and rather down at ...
... tion to Ashenden as little as possible , an agent from the police - station came to see him . His name was Felix . He was a little dark Frenchman with sharp eyes and an unshaven chin , dressed in a shabby grey suit and rather down at ...
Page 209
... tion , while not two hundred miles away men in the trenches were sheltering in their dug - outs from the bitter cold and the pitiless bombardment . Ashenden need not have feared that the conversa- tion would proceed with difficulty and ...
... tion , while not two hundred miles away men in the trenches were sheltering in their dug - outs from the bitter cold and the pitiless bombardment . Ashenden need not have feared that the conversa- tion would proceed with difficulty and ...
Page 263
... tion , invented by the vulgar as a term of abuse , he had accepted like the instrument of a saint's martyrdom , the gridiron of Saint Laurence for instance or the wheel of Saint Catherine , as an honorific title . He glor- ied in it ...
... tion , invented by the vulgar as a term of abuse , he had accepted like the instrument of a saint's martyrdom , the gridiron of Saint Laurence for instance or the wheel of Saint Catherine , as an honorific title . He glor- ied in it ...
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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