Synopses & Reviews
One of Conrad's acknowledged masterpieces, The Secret Agent (1907) concerns a group of revolutionaries in the backstreets of 19th-century London, plotting the destruction of a monument of learning and science, in this case, the Greenwich Observatory. Unbeknownst to the schemers, however, their ringleader is an agent provocateur. Rich in authentic atmosphere and psychological realism, the story revolves around Adolph Verloc, proprietor of an obscure Soho shop, whose double life encompasses a quiet family circle, an active friendship with a group of anarchists, and allegiance to an unnamed foreign government. Ordered to carry out the attack on the Observatory, Verloc sees his plan take a disastrous turn for the worse, providing a thrilling climax for this engrossing tale by a master of irony and characterization.
Synopsis
In the back streets of nineteenth-century London, a group of revolutionaries plot an incident intended to turn English complacency on its ear. Their objective: the destruction of one of the nation's proudest monuments of scientific achievement, the Greenwich Observatory. Unbeknownst to the schemers, however, their ringleader is an agent provocateur, driven by a complex array of ambiguous motives and conflicting loyalties.
As this masterpiece of atmospheric realism and psychological depth unfolds, readers will savor the ironic narrative technique for which Conrad is justly famed, as well as the compelling characterizations that breathe life into his cast: Adolph Verloc, proprietor of an obscure Soho shop, whose double life encompasses a quiet family circle, friendship with a band of anarchists, and allegiance to a foreign government; Verloc's wife, Winnie, whose desperation to maintain a home for her simple-minded brother overrules her suspicions about her husband's activities; and Stevie, the man-child whose innocence proves the means of his undoing.
One of the first and greatest espionage thrillers, The Secret Agent remains as engrossing and effective as when it was first published in 1907.
Synopsis
A group of revolutionaries in the backstreets of 19th-century London plot the destruction of the Greenwich Observatory in this 1907 masterpiece of suspense. Rich in atmosphere and psychological realism, the tale centers on a shopkeeper whose double life encompasses a quiet family circle, active friendships with anarchists, and allegiance to a foreign government.