Books

1907. London: Methuen & Co., (1907). 40 pp ads dated Sept 1907. Original deep red cloth with gilt-decorated spine. First Edition of this tale of espionage sited in Russia. The idea for the story came from an actual 1890s revolutionary attempt to blow up the Observatory at Greenwich. Conrad initially planned this to be a short story (titled "Verloc"); however, as he "got into" it, he lengthened it into a full-blown novel. He then strove to make it a popular novel, one that would provide him with the cash he needed to get out from under pressing debts; however, after an initial flourish, sales dropped off and the book was not reprinted until 1914, after the success of CHANCE reawakened interest in Conrad. The initial printing consisted of 2,500 copies, including 500 for Canada and 500 intended for the colonies; however, the good initial reception of the book prompted the publisher to use the colonial copies for the domestic market instead, replacing the colonial half-title and…

The Secret Agent, first published in 1907, is one of Joseph Conrad's later political novels which portray the darker aspects of human nature.