William Somerset Maugham

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.

Ashenden

Sarah Sammis

Ashenden or the British Agent by W. Somerset Maugham is somewhere between a short story collection and a novel that chronicles a series of adventures of failed writer turned spy, John Ashenden.

With the characters who recur within the stories make these the book gel. Unfortunately the stories are inconsistent in quality and without an overall sense of progression, the book isn't as satisfying as it should be.

Although my reaction to Ashenden as a whole was lukewarm, there were moments that I really enjoyed. Maugham peppered his scenes with little bits of detail that bring the characters to life. For instance there's a scene early on where Ashenden is bathing but is unhappy that he can't turn the taps with his toes like he feels all good bathtubs should work. Yet, he's too lazy to sit up and adjust the temperature with his hands, so he just sits there getting colder and colder as the bath water cools. These moments of character insight make me want to try other books by Maugham.

Ashenden

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