Ashenden or: The British Agent

Garden City: Doubleday, Doran and Company, 1928.

Price: $300.00

Hardcover. First American edition. A touch rubbed at the spine ends, else very near fine lacking the dust jacket. Basis for the Alfred Hitchcock film *The Secret Agent* with Madeleine Carroll, John Gielgud, and Peter Lorre. A pretty copy of this title listed in both *Queen's Quorum* and as a *Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone*. The American edition is less common than the English edition.

Item #584733

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Item #584733 Ashenden or: The British Agent. W. Somerset MAUGHAM.

W. Somerset Maugham
birth name: William Somerset Maugham
born: 1/25/1874
died: 12/16/1965
nationality: Great Britain

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Biography

English novelist, playwright, and short-story writer whose work is characterized by a clear, unadorned style, cosmopolitan settings, and a shrewd understanding of human nature. - Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literaturemore

Collecting tips:

Maugham was especially prolific. Among our favorites are The Razor's Edge (1944), the American edition preceding the U.K. edition, issued in the U.S. in both a limited and trade edition (the limited had an unprinted glassine jacket - usually missing - and a slipcase, the trade a jacket), The Moon and Sixpence (1919 - the jacket is very scarce), and his first book, Liza of Lambeth (1897 - reportedly issued with a jacket, we've never seen one but suspect that indeed it was). We are intrigued by his many plays, although it can take considerable effort to figure out the various editions and states, even with the good Stott bibliography.

Email us to request a printed copy of our catalog of W. Somerset Maugham Rare Books and First Editions (or download it via the link as a 3.13 MB pdf file).more