The Secret Agent

By Joseph Conrad,

Book cover of The Secret Agent

Book description

The Secret Agent is Joseph Conrad's dark satire on English society, edited with an introduction and notes by Michael Newton in Penguin Classics.

In the only novel Conrad set in London, The Secret Agent communicates a profoundly ironic view of human affairs. The story is woven around an attack on…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep the lights on. Or join the rebellion as a member.

Why read it?

1 author picked The Secret Agent as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

One of the first political thrillers, and still one of the best, this tale is based on a true story about an anarchist devoted to blowing up the Greenwich observatory—if only his family will stop getting in the way. It portrays spies as not the superhumans of most thrillers but ordinary men bumbling through their private lives while trying to steer the public toward their grander schemes. A welcome antidote to the superhero model we see in James Bond and 24.

From David's list on political crime fiction.

Want books like The Secret Agent?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 52 books like The Secret Agent.

Browse books like The Secret Agent

Book cover of The Quiet American
Book cover of The Bonfire of the Vanities
Book cover of Lie in the Dark

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,117

readers submitted
so far, will you?

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in anarchism, politics, and London?

Anarchism 37 books
Politics 770 books
London 863 books