The Secret Agent

The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad is set in London in 1886 and deals with Mr. Adolf Verloc and his work as a spy for an unnamed country. This novel is notable for being one of Conrad's later political novels in which he moved away from his former tales of seafaring. With themes like anarchism, espionage and terrorism and the exploitation of the vulnerable, particularly in Verloc's relationship with his brother-in-law Stevie, who has an intellectual disability.