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W. Somerset Maugham used his own experiences as a First World
War spy for his highly influential series of Ashenden short stories. In 'The Dark
Woman' (tx. 17/11/1991), the opening episode of this four-part adaptation,
Ashenden is asked to forge the contents of love letters to convince a foreign agent to cross over
into enemy territory. This is emblematic of David Pirie's refashioning of
Maugham's disparate characters and plot strands into a cohesive whole.
Although Maugham cautioned readers that "Fact... is a poor storyteller", as
adapted by Pirie the miniseries' exploration of the human cost of espionage
immediately emphasises its autobiographical aspects, with each episode starting
with a 1960s prologue that recalls Maugham's own later life in southern France.
We eventually learn that the key to Ashenden's past is a wartime waltz (by
Stephen Oliver) now turned into a pop song.
Ashenden is only given a surname in the book, but in the series he is
humanised and deepened (and given the first name John). In love with a rich (and
married) society woman, and close friends with a homosexual pacifist (Jason
Isaacs, sporting a passable American accent), he is turned down by the head of
MI6 but ends up a spy for 'R' in military intelligence. Joss Ackland plays the
real-life MI6 chief, Sir George Mansfield Cumming, as a pragmatic idealist,
while 'R' is much more ruthless, believing that in war the ends always justify
the means. Ashenden is caught between the two. The fundamental theme here is the
moral education of its protagonist, a self-proclaimed cynic who by journey's end
is an emotionally damaged romantic who, haunted by the death of an innocent
woman, comes to agree with Cumming's view that 'R's lack of honour and loyalty
is a slippery slope, leading "from disillusion to disaffection to
defection".
The series was sumptuously filmed on location in Hungary, Austria and the
then Yugoslavia, and Alex Jennings' subtle and finely judged central performance
(he appears in every scene) is matched by many strong cameos, especially a truly
sinister turn by Alan Bennett as the title character in 'The Traitor' (tx.
24/11/1991).
Compared with Hitchcock's adaptation Secret Agent (1936), Ashenden is notable
for its textual and tonal fidelity, capturing well the passion beneath the
detached veneer of the main character. Roland Culver also played Ashenden in
'Sanitorium', the final episode of the Maugham anthology Trio (d. Ken
Annakin/Harold French/Antony Darnborough, 1950).
Sergio Angelini
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1. Memories (0:47)
