The Secret Agent in Reading 1001

Sep 16, 2019 Diane rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 1001, 20th-century, 1001-done, modern-library-100, espionage, 2019-reads, western-canon, guardian-1000, penguin-classics, edwardian

3.5 stars.

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Sep 20, 2012 Rosemary rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 1001-books

Mr Verloc is a small-time secret agent, apparently a long time member of an anarchist group and running a seedy shop in London as a cover, but all the time reporting to his bosses at the embassy of an unnamed foreign power. He is fond of his wife in an unthinking way, and willingly houses her mother and her brother with learning difficulties as well as his wife herself. But then a new person in charge at the embassy wants him to escalate his activity to a level he has never dreamed of, threateni ...more

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Oct 03, 2022 Kristel rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 1001-books, 1001-challenge, politics, modern-library

Reason Read: 1001, TBR/ROOT
This book was written in 1906 by Joseph Conrad. Its themes are terrorism/anarchism, politics.Sounds like today doesn't it? It was set in London in 1886. Anarchism is a unified organization but a collection of ideas on rejection of government and authority. The character Adolf Verloc is a spy living in London. His front is London shopkeeper. The anarchist are Michaelis who spent time in prison and really isn't much danger in any way, Comrade Ossipon, and "The Professor" ...more

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Oct 15, 2016 Dree rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: england-uk-ireland, 1001-read, 2016-reads

I enjoyed this book much more than I expected--I had actually never heard of it before finding it on Serial Reader and the 1001 books list.

Winnie has spent her life devoted to her mentally disabled brother. She forgoes a true love in order to marry Mr Verloc, who is kind to Stevie and happy to have he (and then her mother) live with them.

Winnie is happy enough. She works the store, cares for Stevie, and is satisfied. But then her mother chooses to move into an indigent's home through her late hu ...more

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Mar 08, 2012 Rebekah rated it really liked it

Shelves: college, genre-classics, genre-thriller, genre-literature, genre-novels, rating-4, genre-european-literature-british-l, genre-literature-20-century, genre-mystery-crime, genre-mystery

Read this for a Modern British Novel class. Very memorable and disturbing, like Conrad novels are. Very frightening look at terrorism. The main character is disabled and exploited by the terrorists to commit an awful crime.

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