Although a member of an anarchist cell, Verloc is also secretly employed by the Embassy as an agent provocateur. Soon after, Verloc leaves to meet Mr Vladimir, the new First Secretary in the embassy of a foreign country. The novel begins in Verloc's home, as he and his wife discuss the trivialities of everyday life, which introduces the reader to Verloc's family. The group produces anarchist literature in the form of pamphlets entitled F.P., an acronym for The Future of the Proletariat.

Although largely ineffectual as terrorists, their actions are known to the police. Verloc's friends are a group of anarchists of which Comrade Ossipon, Michaelis, and 'The Professor' are the most prominent. Stevie has a mental disability, possibly autism, which causes him to be excitable his sister, Verloc's wife, attends to him, treating him more as a son than as a brother. He lives with his wife Winnie, his mother-in-law, and his brother-in-law, Stevie. Verloc is also a businessman who owns a shop which sells pornographic material, contraceptives and bric-a-brac. Set in London in 1886, the novel follows the life of Adolf Verloc, a secret agent. īecause of its terrorism theme, it was one of the three works of literature most cited in the American media two weeks after the September 11 attacks. The novel was modified as a stage play by Conrad himself and has since been adapted for film, TV, radio and opera. Conrad’s gloomy portrait of London depicted in the novel was influenced by Charles Dickens’ Bleak House.

It also deals with exploitation of the vulnerable in Verloc's relationship with his brother-in-law Stevie, who has an intellectual disability. Wells and deals broadly with anarchism, espionage, and terrorism. The Secret Agent is one of Conrad's later political novels in which he moved away from his former tales of seafaring. Adolf Verloc and his work as a spy for an unnamed country (presumably Russia). The story is set in London in 1886 and deals with Mr.

The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale is a novel by Joseph Conrad, first published in 1907.

The secret agent by joseph conrad