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Secret Agent (Dover Thrift Editions)
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Manufacturer: Dover Publications
Author: Joseph Conrad
Publisher: Dover Publications
Average Customer Rating:
Our Price: $5.00
You Save: $ ( % )
Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
Author: Joseph Conrad
Publisher: Dover Publications
Average Customer Rating:
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Secret Agent (Dover Thrift Editions) Description
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.912
EAN: 9780486419183
ISBN: 0486419185
Label: Dover Publications
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 208
Publication Date: 2001-11-09
Publisher: Dover Publications
Studio: Dover Publications
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.912
EAN: 9780486419183
ISBN: 0486419185
Label: Dover Publications
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 208
Publication Date: 2001-11-09
Publisher: Dover Publications
Studio: Dover Publications
Editorial Review of Secret Agent (Dover Thrift Editions)
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.
Customer Reviews of Secret Agent (Dover Thrift Editions)
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Suspenseful & ironic: A Conrad classic
Review: Based on a true incident, Conrad tells the story of Verloc, the secret agent provocateur who is given the task of blowing up the Royal Observatory in London as a way of heaping scorn on anarchists in England. He sends his mentally deficient brother-in-law Stevie with the bomb, which blows up before he can reach the observatory. Stevie is annihilated and when Verloc's wife (Winnie) finds out what happens to her brother, she stabs Verloc with a carving knife.
Conrad insisted his novel was not a political work dealing with anarchy but was only a "work of the imagination." But he captured the seediness and moral deficiencies of everyone involved, from Verloc to Chief Inspector Heat. The last chapter, where Verloc's now-widow is duped by anarchist Tom Ossipon, who steals all her money, is rank with irony. The best chapter, though, the one around which the high reputation of the book revolves, is chapter 11: from its "She [Winnie] knows everything now" to Verloc's stabbing at the end, it ranks as one of Conrad's most suspenseful and dramatic chapters in all his books. [Alfred Hitchcock made use of the incidents in this work for his movie "Sabotage," though Hitch changed the ending and moved the time of the story up to the 1930s.]
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: A Secret Egg
Review: After reading "A Secret Agent," read Tim Ryan's "Who Pushed Humpty Dumpty?" for a bit of light reading. I am convinced that the latter is a parody of the former.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: interesting satire on victorian / edwardian london
Review: this is not a novel in the traditional sense of the word; the book is not about anyone in particular and the plot doesn't really lead to a conclusive, cohesive end. rather the book descibes a series of events and situations, depicting characters from various classes of society. and it does so quite humorously sometimes. most notorious / memorable character no doubt is the professor, but every character has its interesting sides. i haven't read any other work by conrad, but this book is supposed to be relatively straightforward (in language) compared to his other work. nonetheless it does take him a lot of paper sometimes to get the message across. that being said, it's an interesting snapshot of the period in which it was written, and, mostly, a pleasant read.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: The English Language at it Best
Review: The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad is an extremely well written book. He masters the English language brilliantly, even though he grew up in Poland and not in an English speaking country. It is a difficult book to read, but once you get into it, there is no problem. The author's way of describing several situations at the same time, is done very well. Conrad's way of describing the characters makes them come alive.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Dated But Well Done [46]
Review: The plot of this story would be perhaps too sardonic, too morose, for today's mystery novel. This is not a running-full-of-action agent who gooses the reds and chases after or is chased by the bad guys. This is not Fleming, this is not Clancy, this is not today's secret agent. Instead, it delves into the introspection and seriously saddened life of the protagonist - Mr. Verloc, the secret agent.
Verloc may be an agent - but he is not sauvoir d'affaire. He is laughed at by his peers, is thought of as harmless by the police, and is being used by both. When provoked to do something substantial, he sets about to blow up an observatory. It fails. Instead, his accomplice is blown to smithereens and that sets about the chase and his unreproachable demise.
Eventually, we learn he has not only failed with explosives, but his failure has alienated him from the reds and the police. But, there is worse yet - his failure alienates him from his wife of 7 years and her family. This is a failure of mammoth proportions, as he not only ends up dying for his failures, but takes down his brother-in-law and wife with him.
Conrad's writing style may be out of date. It is difficult for today's reader as his book was written 100 years ago. Conrad's use of the English language often entails his deliberate overuse so that you know that he knows more of it than you know. Polish born boy, and forced to speak Russian by the occupiers, he eventually moved to England to write in its language. He is a foreigner who writes in a foreign language -- a deficit he well overcame.
In one passage he acknowledges foreigners' fluency when he writes, "Verloc . . . had come to the conclusion that some foreigners speak better English than the native." But, Conrad's syrupy use of English can effectively ruin some of the dialogue - for instance when Verloc is interrogated by the police, a low officer laughs at Verloc, the alleged anarchist, for being married as the concept of marriage to anarchists is an "apostasy." Apostasy? Name one of today's cops who uses the word! Name anyone!
Reagrdless of the writing style being dated, this book is well worth reading.
Review Summary: Suspenseful & ironic: A Conrad classic
Review: Based on a true incident, Conrad tells the story of Verloc, the secret agent provocateur who is given the task of blowing up the Royal Observatory in London as a way of heaping scorn on anarchists in England. He sends his mentally deficient brother-in-law Stevie with the bomb, which blows up before he can reach the observatory. Stevie is annihilated and when Verloc's wife (Winnie) finds out what happens to her brother, she stabs Verloc with a carving knife.
Conrad insisted his novel was not a political work dealing with anarchy but was only a "work of the imagination." But he captured the seediness and moral deficiencies of everyone involved, from Verloc to Chief Inspector Heat. The last chapter, where Verloc's now-widow is duped by anarchist Tom Ossipon, who steals all her money, is rank with irony. The best chapter, though, the one around which the high reputation of the book revolves, is chapter 11: from its "She [Winnie] knows everything now" to Verloc's stabbing at the end, it ranks as one of Conrad's most suspenseful and dramatic chapters in all his books. [Alfred Hitchcock made use of the incidents in this work for his movie "Sabotage," though Hitch changed the ending and moved the time of the story up to the 1930s.]
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: A Secret Egg
Review: After reading "A Secret Agent," read Tim Ryan's "Who Pushed Humpty Dumpty?" for a bit of light reading. I am convinced that the latter is a parody of the former.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: interesting satire on victorian / edwardian london
Review: this is not a novel in the traditional sense of the word; the book is not about anyone in particular and the plot doesn't really lead to a conclusive, cohesive end. rather the book descibes a series of events and situations, depicting characters from various classes of society. and it does so quite humorously sometimes. most notorious / memorable character no doubt is the professor, but every character has its interesting sides. i haven't read any other work by conrad, but this book is supposed to be relatively straightforward (in language) compared to his other work. nonetheless it does take him a lot of paper sometimes to get the message across. that being said, it's an interesting snapshot of the period in which it was written, and, mostly, a pleasant read.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: The English Language at it Best
Review: The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad is an extremely well written book. He masters the English language brilliantly, even though he grew up in Poland and not in an English speaking country. It is a difficult book to read, but once you get into it, there is no problem. The author's way of describing several situations at the same time, is done very well. Conrad's way of describing the characters makes them come alive.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Dated But Well Done [46]
Review: The plot of this story would be perhaps too sardonic, too morose, for today's mystery novel. This is not a running-full-of-action agent who gooses the reds and chases after or is chased by the bad guys. This is not Fleming, this is not Clancy, this is not today's secret agent. Instead, it delves into the introspection and seriously saddened life of the protagonist - Mr. Verloc, the secret agent.
Verloc may be an agent - but he is not sauvoir d'affaire. He is laughed at by his peers, is thought of as harmless by the police, and is being used by both. When provoked to do something substantial, he sets about to blow up an observatory. It fails. Instead, his accomplice is blown to smithereens and that sets about the chase and his unreproachable demise.
Eventually, we learn he has not only failed with explosives, but his failure has alienated him from the reds and the police. But, there is worse yet - his failure alienates him from his wife of 7 years and her family. This is a failure of mammoth proportions, as he not only ends up dying for his failures, but takes down his brother-in-law and wife with him.
Conrad's writing style may be out of date. It is difficult for today's reader as his book was written 100 years ago. Conrad's use of the English language often entails his deliberate overuse so that you know that he knows more of it than you know. Polish born boy, and forced to speak Russian by the occupiers, he eventually moved to England to write in its language. He is a foreigner who writes in a foreign language -- a deficit he well overcame.
In one passage he acknowledges foreigners' fluency when he writes, "Verloc . . . had come to the conclusion that some foreigners speak better English than the native." But, Conrad's syrupy use of English can effectively ruin some of the dialogue - for instance when Verloc is interrogated by the police, a low officer laughs at Verloc, the alleged anarchist, for being married as the concept of marriage to anarchists is an "apostasy." Apostasy? Name one of today's cops who uses the word! Name anyone!
Reagrdless of the writing style being dated, this book is well worth reading.