Ashenden, or the British Agent

London: William Heinemann, 1928 First edition, first printing. Publisher's dark blue cloth, with author's symbol in black to front board, publisher's name in black to spine, and gilt lettering to front board and spine; in its original black, red, blue, gray, and white dust jacket, with 7/6 price on spine. Very good or better book, with light toning to spine, very bright gilt, a touch of wear to spine ends and corners, and a very gentle lean to spine; very good dust jacket, with some fading to spine and the areas colored blue on the panels, some shallow chipping to spine ends ("A" in "Ashenden" partially affected), corners nicked, and small bookseller's label to rear pastedown. Overall, a great copy. Stott A37a. Ashenden is a series of loosely connected spy stories, all revolving around a British agent referred to by his surname Ashenden, who is sent to work covertly in Switzerland. Maugham based the stories on his own experiences as a British agent during World War I (famously, it is believed that Maugham destroyed 14 unpublished Ashenden stories after Winston Churchill told him that his writings violated the Official Secrets Act). Maugham's depiction of realism and moral ambiguity in Ashenden was original in the spy fiction genre, and influenced many spy writers, like John le Carré, Graham Greene, and Eric Ambler. Two of the stories from Ashenden - "The Hairless Mexican" and "The Traitor" - were loosely adapted by Alfred Hitchcock in his 1936 film The Secret Agent, starring John Gielgud, Madeleine Carroll, and Peter Lorre. . First Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good/Dust Jacket Included. (Inventory #: WSM035)