Ashenden or The British Agent Author:W. Somerset Maugham The secret agent has a dangerous and lonely life, rewarded by anonymity--shadowed by the fear of death. W. Somerset Maugham lived it, and from his own experiences as a British secret agent devised the novel Ashenden. It is the story of a celebrated novelist who entered the service of his country knowing that if he did well he would get no than... more »ks, and if he got into trouble he would get no help. It is written as only Maugham, the greatest entertainer of the century, could write it. "...a brutal, cynical record of British espioage." " A breath-catcher..." The New York Times« less