內容簡介
內容簡介 威廉·薩默塞特·毛姆，英國現代小說家、劇作家。第一次世界大戰爆發後，40歲的毛姆加入了法國的紅十字急救團。在西線服役時，他遇到了22歲的美國人吉拉爾德·哈克斯頓。哈克斯頓外向活潑、精力充沛，與由於口吃而不善交際的毛姆恰成互補。毛姆遂僱哈克斯頓為自己的私人秘書，兩人的伴侶關係一直保持到哈克斯頓1944年去世。另外值得一提的是，一戰中，毛姆受英國軍事情報部駐法國總領約翰·瓦林格爵士之邀，作為特派人員往返於倫敦總部和歐洲大陸之間，為軍情部在歐陸的其他情報人員穿針引線。毛姆的這些經歷為他後來創作的一些間諜小說，如《阿申頓》(1928)，提供了最好的素材。Maugham's set of stories about his wartime spy John Ashenden, who prefigured James Bond with his exploits with exotic enemies and exotic womenWhen war broke out in 1914, Somerset Maugham was dispatched by the British Secret Service to Switzerland under the guise of completing a play. Multilingual, knowledgeable about many European countries and a celebrated writer, Maugham had the perfect cover, and the assignment appealed to his love of romance, and of the ridiculous. The stories collected in Ashenden are rooted in Maugham's own experiences as an agent, reflecting the ruthlessness and brutality of espionage, its intrigue and treachery, as well as its absurdity.
