John Ashenden
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''Ashenden: Or the British Agent'' is a 1927 collection of loosely linked stories by W. Somerset Maugham. It is partly based on the author's experience as a member of British Intelligence in Europe during the First World War.


Plot summary

During the First World War, a writer named Ashenden, referenced only by his surname, is enlisted as an agent through threats and promises by "R.", a Colonel with British Intelligence. He is sent to Switzerland where he becomes involved in a number of counter-intelligence operations; these he accomplishes by means of persuasion, bribery, blackmail, or coincidence. He does not use a weapon. In one, he accompanies a man called the Hairless Mexican to Italy, where they are to intercept important papers carried by an arriving Greek agent of the Germans. The Hairless Mexican meets the only Greek on the incoming ship, and during a search of the Greek's hotel room, the Hairless Mexican and Ashenden do not find any papers. As they prepare to leave the country, Ashenden decodes a cable which tells him that the intended Greek had never boarded the ship; spots of dried blood on the Hairless Mexican's sleeve mean that he had killed the wrong man. In another, Ashenden must induce an Italian dancer to betray her lover, an anti-British Indian and a German agent, by convincing him to cross the border from neutral Switzerland to see her in allied France, where the Allies can arrest him. The ironic denouement is that after the man is captured by the British, he commits suicide before he can be arrested, tried, and executed. When she finds out of his death, the dancer goes to Ashenden and asks to get back the valuable watch she had given to the man whom she has just betrayed. After a number of similar operations, Ashenden is sent to Imperial Russia during the 1917 revolution, as an "agent of influence", to do what he can to keep Russia in the war against Germany. He spends eleven days on the train from Vladivostok to Petrograd sharing a cabin with Harrington, an American business man who is a constant conversationalist. A few days after they arrive, the revolution breaks out in earnest. As they try to evacuate, the business man insists on getting back his laundry that had been sent out. During his return with the laundry, Harrington is killed in a street riot. The stories combine Maugham's talent at character detail with a tragic structure where an affecting and sometimes funny person is damaged in the game of national spying. Some regard these as the forerunner of all the more sceptical
spy fiction Spy fiction is a genre of literature involving espionage as an important context or plot device. It emerged in the early twentieth century, inspired by rivalries and intrigues between the major powers, and the establishment of modern intelligen ...
written by such as
Eric Ambler Eric Clifford Ambler OBE (28 June 1909 – 22 October 1998) was an English author of thrillers, in particular spy novels, who introduced a new realism to the genre. Also working as a screenwriter, Ambler used the pseudonym Eliot Reed for book ...
, Graham Greene and books such as '' The Spy Who Came in from the Cold''.
Raymond Chandler Raymond Thornton Chandler (July 23, 1888 – March 26, 1959) was an American-British novelist and screenwriter. In 1932, at the age of forty-four, Chandler became a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive durin ...
was a great admirer of ''Ashenden'', writing to the author in January 1950: "There are no other great spy stories - none at all. I have been searching and I know".


Chapters

# R. # A Domiciliary Visit # Miss King # The Hairless Mexican # The Dark Woman # The Greek # A Trip to Paris # Giulia Lazzari # Gustav # The Traitor # Behind the Scenes # His Excellency # The Flip of a Coin # A Chance Acquaintance # Love and Russian Literature # Mr. Harrington's Washing In later collections, the chapters are combined and collected under different titles, as below. * "A Domiciliary Visit" & "Miss King" as Miss King * "The Hairless Mexican", "The Dark Woman", "The Greek" as The Hairless Mexican * "A Trip to Paris, "Giulia Lazzari" as Giulia Lazzari * "Gustav", "The Traitor" as The Traitor * "Behind the Scenes", "His Excellency", as His Excellency * "A Chance Acquaintance", "Love and Russian Literature", "Mr. Harrington's Washing" as Mr. Harrington's Washing


Origins

The incidents described in the stories are modelled on Maugham's experiences as a secret agent, and "the central character, Ashenden, is very much an autobiographical character." He is supposed to have modelled ''Chandra Lal'' after Virendranath Chattopadhyaya, an
Indian Nationalist Indian nationalism is an instance of territorial nationalism, which is inclusive of all of the people of India, despite their diverse ethnic, linguistic and religious backgrounds. Indian nationalism can trace roots to pre-colonial India, b ...
in Germany during the war. Maugham, who was in the British Secret Service in Europe during the war, based a number of his stories on his own experiences. Among other enterprises, Britain's European intelligence network attempted to eliminate a number of Indian nationalists in Europe, notably members of the
Berlin Committee The Berlin Committee, later known as the Indian Independence Committee (german: Indisches Unabhängigkeitskomitee) after 1915, was an organisation formed in Germany in 1914 during World War I by Indian students and political activists residing in ...
. Donald Gullick, a British agent, was dispatched to assassinate Chattopadhaya while the latter was on his way to Geneva to meet another Indian nationalist,
Mahendra Pratap Raja Mahendra Pratap Singh (1 December 1886 – 29 April 1979) was an Indian freedom fighter, journalist, writer, revolutionary, President in the Provisional Government of India, which served as the Indian Government in exile during World War ...
and forward the Kaiser's invitation to Berlin. The short story of ''Giulia Lazzari'' is a blend of Gullick's attempts to assassinate Chattopadhyaya and Mata Hari's story. Winston Churchill reportedly advised Maugham to burn 14 other stories.


Adaptations


Film

*The 1936
Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...
-directed film '' Secret Agent'' is a loose adaptation of "The Traitor" and "The Hairless Mexican", with John Gielgud as Ashenden (whose "real" name is Edgar Brodie), and Peter Lorre as The General. *In the 1950 anthology film '' Trio'', Ashenden was played by Roland Culver in the third story called "Sanatorium".


Television

*On 7 August 1959,
BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...
broadcast a
live version Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film *'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD) Music *Live (band), American alternative rock band * List of albums ...
of "The Traitor." Written by Troy Kennedy Martin and directed by Gerard Glaister, it starred Stephen Murray as Ashenden, Donald Pleasence as Grantley Caypor, and
Mai Zetterling Mai Elisabeth Zetterling (; 24 May 1925 – 17 March 1994) was a Swedish film director, novelist and actor. Early life Zetterling was born in Västerås, Sweden to a working class family. She started her career as an actor at the age of 17 at D ...
as Frau Caypor. No copy is known to exist. *A number of the stories formed the basis of the 1991 four-part BBC1 series '' Ashenden'', written by
David Pirie David Pirie (born 1953) is a screenwriter, film producer, film critic, and novelist. As a screenwriter, he is known for his noirish original thrillers, classic adaptations and period gothic pieces. In 1998, he was nominated for a BAFTA for Best ...
and directed by Christopher Morahan, with Alex Jennings in the title role,
Joss Ackland Sidney Edmond Jocelyn Ackland CBE (born 29 February 1928) is an English retired actor who has appeared in more than 130 film and television roles. He was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for portraying Jock Del ...
as Cumming and Ian Bannen as 'R'. Guest actors included Harriet Walter as Giulia Lazzari in the first episode, Alan Bennett as Grantly Caypor in the second,
René Auberjonois René Murat Auberjonois (; June 1, 1940 – December 8, 2019) was an American actor and director. He was best known for portraying Odo on '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (1993–1999). He first achieved fame as a stage actor, winning the Tony Aw ...
as John Quincy Harrington in the third, with Elizabeth McGovern as Aileen Sommerville and Alfred Molina as Carmona, the hairless Mexican, in the final story. A framing device at the start of each episode shows progressively more of an aged Ashenden living in France in the mid-1960s, reacting adversely to a piece of music on the radio. The final episode – which gives the context to this reaction – closes with a return to this "future" setting.


Radio

There have been many full cast adaptations of the stories for BBC Radio. *1940, ''Miss King'' adapted by M. H. Allen and produced by Val Gielgud. *1940, ''Giulia Lazzari'' adapted by M. H. Allen and produced by Val Gielgud. *1940, ''The Traitor'' adapted by M. H. Allen and produced by Val Gielgud. *1940, ''The Hairless Mexican'' adapted by M. H. Allen and produced by Val Gielgud. *1943, ''The Hairless Mexican'' adapted by Hugh Stewart and produced by Howard Rose. Part of the ''
Saturday Night Theatre ''Saturday Night Theatre'' was a long-running radio drama strand on BBC Radio 4. The strand showcased feature-length, middle-brow single plays on Saturday evenings for more than 50 years, having been launched in April 1943. The plays featured in t ...
'' series. *1947, ''The Traitor'' adapted by Hugh Stewart and produced by Mary Hope Allen. *1947, ''Ashenden: Miss King'' adapted by Mary Hope Allen and produced by Neil Tuson. *1947, ''Ashenden: The Hairless Mexican'' adapted by Hugh Stewart and produced by Neil Tuson. *1947, ''Ashenden: Giulia Lazzari'' adapted by Mary Hope Allen and produced by Neil Tuson. *1947, ''Ashenden: The Traitor'' adapted by Hugh Stewart and produced by Neil Tuson. *1947, ''Ashenden: His Excellency'' adapted and produced by Neil Tuson. *1947, ''Ashenden: Mr. Harrington's Washing'' adapted and produced by Neil Tuson. *1953, ''Cakes and Ale'' adapted by Howard Agg and produced by Val Gielgud. *1954, ''The Tenth Man'' adapted by Peggy Wells and produced by Archie Campbell. Part of the ''Saturday Night Theatre'' series. *1968, ''Cakes and Ale'' adapted by Howard Agg and produced by Martyn C. Webster. *1974, ''Cakes and Ale'' in three episodes, adapted by Harry Green and produced by Richard Beynon.BBC Genome: ''Cakes and Ale'' (1974)
/ref> There are also various BBC serialised solo readings: *1966, ''Ashenden – Secret Agent 1914-1918: The Hairless Mexican'' in five episodes, adapted by Howard Agg, produced by George Angell and read by Leo Genn. *1967, ''Ashenden – Secret Agent 1914-1918: Giulia Lazzari'' in five episodes, adapted by Howard Agg, produced by George Angell and read by Leo Genn. *1969, ''Ashenden – Secret Agent 1914-1918: The Hairless Mexican'' in five episodes, adapted by Marjorie Bilbow, produced by George Angell and read by
Roger Delgado Roger Caesar Marius Bernard de Delgado Torres Castillo Roberto (1 March 1918 – 18 June 1973) was a British actor. He played many roles on television, radio and in films, and had "a long history of playing minor villains" before becoming ...
. Part of the ''
Book at Bedtime ''Book at Bedtime'' (''A Book at Bedtime'' until 9 July 1993) is a long-running radio programme that is broadcast on BBC Radio 4 each weekday evening between 22.45 and 23.00. The programme presents readings of fiction, including modern classics, ...
'' series. *1969, ''Ashenden – Secret Agent 1914-1918: Giulia Lazzari'' in five episodes, adapted by Marjorie Bilbow, produced by George Angell and read by Roger Delgado. Part of the ''Book at Bedtime'' series. *1970, ''Ashenden – Secret Agent 1914-1918: Mr. Harrington's Washing'' in five episodes, adapted and read by Roger Delgado, produced by George Angell. Part of the ''Book at Bedtime'' series. *2002, ''Cakes and Ale'' in ten episodes, abridged and produced by Jane Marshall, read by Richard Pasco. Part of the ''Book at Bedtime'' series *2007, ''Ashenden, Gentleman Spy'' in five episodes, abridged by Neville Teller, produced by Eoin O'Callaghan and read by Alex Jennings. Part of the ''Book at Bedtime'' series. There is also at least one full length audiobook: *2012, ''Ashenden'' unabridged, read by Christopher Oxford and released by Audible audiobooks.


Other appearances

A character named "William Ashenden" is the narrator of Maugham's 1930 novel ''
Cakes and Ale ''Cakes and Ale, or, The Skeleton in the Cupboard'' (1930) is a novel by the British author W. Somerset Maugham. Maugham exposes the misguided social snobbery levelled at the character Rosie Driffield, whose frankness, honesty, and sexual freedo ...
''.Kathleen Kuiper
Cakes and Ale (novel by Maugham)
Britannica.com, 2011. Accessed 23 November 2013.
A character named Ashenden also appears in several other of Maugham's short stories. The character appears briefly in the book ''
The Bloody Red Baron ''Anno Dracula: The Bloody Red Baron'', or simply ''The Bloody Red Baron'', is a 1995 alternate history/ horror novel by British author Kim Newman. It is the second book in the ''Anno Dracula'' series and takes place during the Great War, 30 ye ...
'' by Kim Newman. "Ashenden" is mentioned a number of times in the Mick Herron novel "Slow Horses".


References


Sources

* . *.


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ashenden: Or The British Agent Short story collections by W. Somerset Maugham 1928 British novels British spy novels Novels set during World War I Novels set in Switzerland Heinemann (publisher) books