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The Secret Agent
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Check link for latest rating. ( 24,416 ratings, 1,963 reviews)
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
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.
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Description
Published alongside other Conrad's works, on the 150th anniversary of his birth.
In 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.
Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad is highly praised as a significant work blending a detective story with political intrigue. Critics like Ford Madox Ford and Thomas Mann appreciate its status as a thrilling crime story intertwined with political themes. F. R. Leavis considers it one of Conradβs masterpieces, while Paul Theroux highlights its pioneering role as a political thriller, reflecting Conrad's personal struggles and societal observations through its dream-like narrative and complex characters.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9780141441580
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 02 August 2007
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Penguin Classics
Contributors:
- Edited by Michael Newton
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 18.0mm
Width: 129.0mm
Height: 197.0mm
Weight: 237g
Pages: 320
About the Author
Joseph Conrad was born in the Ukraine in 1857 and grew up under Tsarist autocracy. In 1874 Conrad travelled to Marseilles, where he served in French merchant vessels before joining a British ship in 1878 as an apprentice. In 1886 he obtained British nationality. Eight years later he left the sea to devote himself to writing, publishing his first novel, Almayer's Folly, in 1895. The following year he settled in Kent, where he produced within fifteen years such modern classics as Youth, Heart of Darkness, Lord Jim, Typhoon, Nostromo, The Secret Agent and Under Western Eyes. He continued to write until his death in 1924. J. H. Stape is the author of The Several Lives of Joseph Conrad (1996) and Conrad's Notes on Life and Letters (2004).
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