THE GREATEST SPY IN THE HISTORY OF FICTION! ASHENDEN is one of the two or three greatest spy stories ever written. W. SOMERSET MAUGHAM, himself a former British Operative, based this novel on his own real life experiences. Here is his daily life — and daily deaths, the dangerous men and subtle women, the mysterious rendezvous, the chance encounters, and the grim reality and glamorous facade of international espionage.