The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale is set in London in 1886 and follows the life of Mr. Verloc, a secret agent. It is notable for being one of Conrad's later political novels in which he moved away from his former tales of seafaring.
♥♥ The Secret Agent: Bestseller Mystery & Thriller by Joseph Conrad ♥♥
Set in London in 1886, the novel follows the life of Adolf Verloc, a secret agent. Verloc is also a businessman who owns a shop which sells pornographic material, contraceptives and bric-a-brac.
♥♥ The Secret Agent: Bestseller Mystery & Thriller by Joseph Conrad ♥♥
He lives with his wife Winnie, his mother-in-law, and his brother-in-law, Stevie. Stevie has a mental disability, possibly autism, which causes him to be excitable; his sister, Verloc's wife, attends to him, treating him more as a son than as a brother.
♥♥ The Secret Agent: Bestseller Mystery & Thriller by Joseph Conrad ♥♥
Verloc's friends are a group of anarchists of which Comrade Ossipon, Michaelis, and "The Professor" are the most prominent. Although largely ineffectual as terrorists, their actions are known to the police. The group produces anarchist literature in the form of pamphlets entitled F.P., an acronym for The Future of the Proletariat.