The Secret Agent

One of "the three works of literature most cited in the American media" around the two weeks following 9/11. “I am afraid that if you want to go down into history you'll have to do something for it.” ― Joseph Conrad, The Secret Agent Few people realize that Joseph Conrad invented the terrorist-spy genre in 1907 with his novella The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale. 'The Secret Agent' was one of "the three works of literature most cited in the American media" around the two weeks following September 11, 2001.” ( From “Conrad in the Twentieth Century: Contemporary Approaches and Perspectives, Abingdon, Oxford.”). The story is set in London in 1886 and deals largely with the life of Mr. Verloc and his job as a spy. The Secret Agent is notable as one of Conrad's later political novels, which move a.......