MAUGHAM, W. Somerset.

£1,875 · Offered by Peter Harrington · No longer available

Ashenden or The British Agent. First edition, first impression, of this accepted masterpiece of spy fiction, a noted source of inspiration for Ian Fleming, le Carré, and countless other spy-thriller writers. "Of all fictitious spy stories, Ashenden's adventures come nearest to the real-life experiences of his creator" (Masters, p. 65).This collection of interconnected short stories is based on the author's time working in the British Secret Intelligence Service. It follows the adventures of the titular character as he operates for SIS during the First World War in Switzerland and other countries across Europe and Asia under the cover of being an author. The book provided the source material of the 1936 film The Secret Agent, directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

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