The Secret Agent

By Joseph Conrad, 1907

Download The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad. A psychological espionage classic. Available in PDF, EPUB, and MOBI formats.

The Secret Agent

The Secret Agent Summary

The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad is a haunting portrait of espionage, terrorism, and moral disintegration. Set in London’s anarchist underground, the novel follows Mr. Verloc, a shopkeeper and secret agent, whose double life leads to tragic consequences. Conrad’s masterful psychological insight makes this one of the most profound spy novels ever written.

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The Secret Agent Excerpt

Short Summary: Not all spies wear disguises. Some run bookstores. And some plant bombs that destroy the people they love.

"He was a secret agent in name—but a pawn in every game."

Mr. Verloc lives a quiet life in Soho, keeping shop and caring for his wife and her brother. But beneath the surface, he serves as an informant for a foreign embassy. When his handlers demand action to incite public fear, Verloc is forced into a plot to bomb the Greenwich Observatory—a plan that spirals into horror.

This is no action-packed thriller. Conrad offers a slow, intense burn: a psychological study of cowardice, ideology, and despair. Every character, from the disillusioned police inspector to Verloc’s silent, suffering wife, is drawn with disturbing intimacy.

The Secret Agent remains a prophetic novel of political violence, state manipulation, and the unseen tragedies at the heart of terror. Rich in irony and moral ambiguity, it influenced 20th-century literature and intelligence fiction alike.