When war broke out in 1914, Somerset Maugham was dispatched by the British Secret Service to Switzerland under the guise of completing a play. Multilingual, knowledgeable about many European countries and a celebrated writer, Maugham had the perfect cover, and the assignment appealed to his love of romance, and of the ridiculous. The stories collected in Ashenden are rooted in Maugham's own experiences as an agent, reflecting the ruthlessness and brutality of espionage, its intrigue and treachery, as well as its absurdity.
| ISBN: | 9780099289708 |
| Publication date: | 6th July 2000 |
| Author: | W Somerset Maugham |
| Publisher: | Vintage Classics an imprint of Random House |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Pagination: | 325 pages |
| Series: | Vintage Classics |
| Genres: |
Espionage and spy thriller First World War fiction Modern and Contemporary Fiction Classic fiction: general and literary |