The Secret Agent

Joseph Conrad, 1907

Modernist novels

A London shopkeeper's concealed political work places a household within a world of espionage.

Read the book Contents

Length: 13 chapters
Reading time: About 6 hr 19 min
Words: 90,096

About the book

Mr Verloc leaves a small, unprofitable shop under family supervision and goes out unusually early. The narrative's attention to his household and his carefully maintained appearance suggests that his ordinary business is only part of his occupation.

Conrad places secret political activity beside rooms, routines and relationships that seem remote from public events. His measured, ironic descriptions ask readers to look beyond the explanation a person offers for himself. The interest comes from the uneasy connection between large political designs and the private lives through which those designs must operate.

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Modernist novels

This edition

Text from Standard Ebooks, who proofread and typeset it and dedicate their edition to the public domain. Joseph Conrad died more than 70 years ago, so the work is out of copyright in the UK. Includes the original author’s note, dedication.