JOURNAL ARTICLE

The Maugham Paradigm: Commitment, Conflict, and Nationality in Early Espionage Fiction.

Published In: Partial Answers, 2023, v. 21, n. 1. P. 71 1 of 3
Database: Humanities Source Ultimate 2 of 3
Authored By: GRIFFIN, MARTIN 3 of 3

Abstract

The publication in 1928 of W. Somerset Maugham's collection of short stories Ashenden, or the British Agent set a new standard for espionage fiction. Based on the author's own experience in intelligence work during World War I, three Ashenden stories discussed here, "Miss King," "The Traitor," and "Mr. Harrington's Washing," portray, in different ways, the pressures that history and ideological conflict place upon individuals and their relationships. Ashenden himself becomes subject to doubt, and often ends his mission in failure or at most an ambiguous victory. As one of the earliest protagonists of the modern espionage narrative, Maugham's "British Agent" represents not only his nation at war but also the sense that that nation's power and influence on the world stage are beginning to slip away. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Additional Information

Source:Partial Answers. 2023/01, Vol. 21, Issue 1, p71
Document Type:Article
Subject Area:Literature and Writing
Publication Date:2023
ISSN:15653668
DOI:10.1353/pan.2023.0004
Accession Number:161580654
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