Publisher's Synopsis
The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale by Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad's Secret Agent, is a classic novel based on real events, the attempt to blow up Greenwich Observatory in 1894. The fictionalized story revolves around a beautiful young woman, her simple-minded brother and her devoted but tortured husband. The novel is a mixture of love story, spy and mystery that continues to entertain for many years after its original publication date.
The novel opens as a store owner Mr. Verloc goes on a date at an embassy in London. During this meeting, Mr. Verloc is revealed to be a secret agent of the French government and is accused of no longer being productive in this capacity. In the past, the Ambassador was a man who completely trusted Mr. Verloc. However, there is a new man in charge now. He is a man of action, who expects everyone in his employ to be men of action. This man, Mr. Vladimir, suggests that Mr. Verloc create a situation to excite the emotions of the people of London, by setting off a bomb in a scientific location.
As Mr. Verloc struggles with the perceived threat in Mr. Vladimir's suggestion, his friends excite his brother-in-law's emotions by discussing social reform in terms the young man misunderstands. Stevie, Mr. Verloc's brother-in-law, is a simple young man who has struggled with a job and now works exclusively in Mr. Verloc's porn store.
When a man blows up in Greenwich Park, some of Mr Verloc's friends are convinced he blew himself up. The police are also immediately suspicious of Mr. Verloc, because of a blue tissue found among the deceased's belongings. An inspector, Chief Inspector Heat, believes that a friend of Mr Verloc's recently released on parole, Michaelis, is involved. He is determined to prove it, in order to continue to develop his highly respected reputation. His supervisor, the Deputy Commissioner, disagreed and decided to get himself involved in the investigation.
Heat goes to Mr. Verloc's, only to find that his supervisor has been there before. Heat learns the true identity of the dead man and that Mr. Verloc was indeed involved. Heat suggests that Mr. Verloc leave the country immediately. The deputy commissioner, however, has already offered Mr Verloc a deal in exchange for information that not only wipes out Michaelis but also ends Mr Vladimir's tyrannical reign.
Upon hearing of her brother's death, Ms Verloc becomes almost catatonic, as she listens to her husband explain everything that has happened. Mr. Verloc tells his young wife that his brother's death is as much his fault as it is his, as it forced Mr. Verloc to spend time with Stevie. It is also her fault that Mr Verloc was arrested so quickly by the police, because she did not tell him about the tags she sewn on her brother's coat. Mrs. Verloc becomes homicidal and stabs her husband with a carving knife.
Mrs. Verloc runs from the shop, fearing to die by the gallows. Mrs. Verloc meets a friend of her husband's and begs him for help. However, instead of helping her, Ossipon, her husband's friend, abandons her and steals all her money. Ms. Verloc ends up committing suicide by anonymously jumping off a steamboat. Only Ossipon knows the truth about Mrs. Verloc's death.
