Other editions of book The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale

The Secret Agent The story is set in London in 1886 and deals with Mr. Adolf Verloc and his work as a spy for an unnamed country (presumably Russia). The Secret Agent is one of Conrad's later political novels in which he moved away from his former tales of seafaring. The novel deals broadly with anarchism, espionage and terrorism Almayer's Folly, published in 1895, is Joseph Conrad's first novel. Set in the late 19th century, it centers on the life of the Dutch trader Kaspar Almayer in the Borneo jungle and his relationship to his mixed heritage daughter Nina.Almayer’s Folly is about a poor businessman who dreams of finding a hidden gold mine and becoming very wealthy. He is a white European, married to a native Malayan; they have one daughter named Nina. He fails to find the goldmine, and comes home saddened. Previously, he had heard that the British were to conquer the Pantai River, and he had built a large, lavish house near where he resided at the time, in order to welcome the invading country to the native land. However, the conquest never took place, and the house remained unfinished. Some passing Dutch seamen

What has been called Conrad's "most chilling novel" is set around an actual historical event, the 1894 anarchist attack on London's Greenwich Observatory. Conrad uses this terrorist outrage to examine the darkness and duplicity of human nature, while London itself takes on all the semblance of a individual, a gloomy, quasi-Gothic location, a haunting presence that colours and informs the cynical, self-interested behaviour of its inhabitants. In Conrad's own opinion 'The Secret Agent' has "doubt, fear... a black horror in every page..." The novel's themes are universal, and raise questions pertinent to terrorist activities in our own time.

By the time Joseph Conrad (1857-1924) produced this novel in 1907, terrorism had torn its way through London: Victoria station had been partially destroyed, the House of Commons damaged, and Scotland Yard attacked with dynamite. Conrad's story is set in 1886, at the height of these troubles, and was inspired by the 1894 attempt to bomb Greenwich Observatory. Written just after Nostromo (1904), it is a marked departure from Conrad's usual seafaring form and plunges the reader into the claustrophobic, grimy world of late nineteenth-century London. Mr Adolf Verloc - anarchist, spy, and purveyor of pornographic material - heads a cast of shadowy characters all affected directly or indirectly by the anarchist organisation to which he belongs. Although critics acknowledged its power, the novel and its dark subject matter were uneasily received in Conrad's lifetime. This reissue of the first edition confirms the book's place as a classic of twentieth-century fiction.

The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale is a novel by Joseph Conrad. The story is set in London in 1886 and tells the tale of Mr. Verloc and his work as a spy for an unnamed country. Any profits made from the sale of this book will go towards supporting the Freeriver Community project, a project that aims to support community and encourage well-being. To learn more about the Freeriver Community project please visit the website- www.freerivercommunity.com

The Secret Agent, A Simple Tale is set in London in 1886 and deals largely with the life of Mr. Verloc and his job as a spy. The Secret Agent is also notable as it is one of Conrad's later political novels, which move away from his typical tales of seafaring. The novel deals broadly with the notions of anarchism, espionage, and terrorism. It portrays anarchist or revolutionary groups before many of the social uprisings of the twentieth century. However, it also deals with exploitation, particularly with regard to Verloc's relationship with his brother-in-law Stevie. Because of its terrorist theme, The Secret Agent was noted as "one of the three works of literature most cited in the American media" around two weeks after September 11, 2001.The Secret Agent was ranked the 46th best novel of the 20th century by Modern Library