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Ashenden

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Ashenden

By: W. Somerset Maugham
Narrated by: Christopher Oxford
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About this listen

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.

©1955 W. Somerset Maugham (P)2012 Audible, Ltd. Classics Espionage Genre Fiction Spies & Politics Thriller & Suspense War & Military War Fiction Military

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Enter 'Ashenden', prototype Bond, with 'our hero' a barely disguised Maugham as writer, traveller and gentleman spy. This is a wonderful listen that lays the groundwork for Fleming and Le Carre. The story - telling is of its time with some wonderful writing and also some teasing glimpses of what might have been if Maugham had further developed the character. I would have loved to have followed him to Berlin and the run up to WW2. At least we have this collection to return to and enjoy.

The Original 'International Man of Mystery'.

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I have been indulging in Somerset Maugham's novels and short stories and have loved them all. The audible/old versions are amazing to listen to. Close your ears and minds to the bigoted & racist remarks of some of his characters ( they are quite old so treat them as you would any historical source) and try to place yourself in that era. Nowadays the ideals of the past are somewhat abhorrent. We should never forget how other races were treated by our ancestors.

A great book, not one of my favourites though.

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As spy fiction goes this could not be further from the James Bond of the movies or (with the possible exception of Quantum of Solace) the novels. However, that is very far from being a bad thing. Ashenden (aka Somerville) is no action hero, his world is occasionally threatening but mostly dull, the stories are brief, tantalisingly incomplete and extremely light on plot. BUT it works. Maugham conjures an atmosphere that, while not endearing you to any of the characters - most of whom seem implausible - comes over as genuine. This is how things probably were, not how escapist fiction would have us believe.
In the introduction Maugham describes how true stories come across; incomplete, unsatisfying and with a tendency to fade and this is exactly how these tales come over. It is as if he is telling us they are true tales from his own past and they most probably are. The world has moved on, people are different but Maugham's writing is still worth a read.

My name is certainly not James Bond

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Great narration.
Great stories of the first world war
Great writer of the very late eighteenth and nineteenth century

A story of a Spy

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Well written, but sadly nothing much to say. The subject matter would doubtless have been bracing to live through, but as fiction reads as a series of anecdotes with disappointing conclusions. Useful treatment for insomnia.
The reader did his best, but deserved better material. Maugham has certainly written much better than this.

Inconsequential

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