W. Somerset Maugham
W. Somerset Maugham was one of the most important novelists and playwrights of the early 20th century, whose Ashenden stories drew on his own wartime espionage service to create the first realistic spy fiction. His laconic, ironic style anticipated le Carré and the anti-heroic spy novel by decades. He is considered the father of the literary spy story.
Works
- AshendenCollection of spy stories featuring a British intelligence agent during World War One
- The Moon and SixpenceNovel of a man who abandons civilization to pursue art in Tahiti at any cost
- Of Human BondageBildungsroman following a British medical student's struggle against desire and social constraint
- Cakes and AleSatirical novel about marriage, love, and propriety in Edwardian England
- The Razor's EdgeStory of a soldier seeking spiritual enlightenment and redemption after World War One