Synopsis

The Secret Agent (Subtitled : A Simple Tale) is a novel by Joseph Conrad, first published in 1907. The story is set in London in 1886 and deals with Mr. Adolf Verloc and his work as a spy. It's regarded as a dark satire on English society. The Secret Agent is one of Conrad's later political novels in which he moved away from his former tales of seafaring.

In this the only novel Conrad set in London, The Secret Agent communicates a profoundly ironic view of human affairs. The story is woven around an attack on the Greenwich Observatory in 1894 masterminded by Verloc, a Russian spy working for the police, and ostensibly a member of an anarchist group in Soho. His masters instruct him to discredit the anarchists in a humiliating fashion, and when his evil plan goes horribly awry, Verloc must deal with the repercussions of his actions.

While rooted in the Edwardian period, Conrad's tale remains strikingly contemporary, with its depiction of Londoners gripped by fear of the terrorists living in their midst.

Details

• Format : Standard 2nd Hand Paperback
• Condition : Very Good
• Category : Fiction - Classics
• Published : 1907 (This Edition - 2007 - Vintage)
• ISBN : 9780099511533
• SKU : B002801
• PPC : LL300gm
• RRP : £5.99
• Quantity Available : 1 only.

External Reviews

"Published in 1907, one gets the feeling that the Secret Agent has created and influenced certain literary genres of the 20th century. It is my favourite of Conrad's novels (and I think it was a literary triumph for him, even bigger than Nostromo), yet its bleakness means I cannot easily go back to it. Nevertheless, if anyone wanted to start reading Conrad I would recommend starting right here."

"Taking in Verloc's home life, the lives of his friends and the machinations of a certain foreign power, as well as the investigation of the terrorist act and the political machinations that that involves this is the ideal read for anyone interested in politics and terrorism. To be honest I have urged many people to read this over the years, and so far everyone who has has absolutely enjoyed it, so if you want to read something that is powerful and will give you an insight into how things really are, then give this a try, you won't be disappointed." - Google Reviews.

"The Secret Agent is an astonishing book. It is one of the best-and certainly the most significant-detective stories ever written." - Ford Madox Ford.

"The Secret Agent is an altogether thrilling 'crime story' . . . a political novel of a foreign embassy intrigue and its tragic human outcome." - Thomas Mann.

The Author

Joseph Conrad was a Polish-British writer regarded as one of the greatest novelists to write in the English language. Though he did not speak English fluently until his twenties, he came to be regarded a master prose stylist who brought a non-English sensibility into English literature.

Featured Author . . . Joseph Conrad