The Secret Agent

By: Joseph Conrad

Narrated by: David Threlfall

Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

Exclusively from Audible

The Secret Agent is based on an actual attempt made in 1894 to blow up the Greenwich Observatory. A labyrinth of greed, corruption, and betrayal, it is the most darkly humorous of all Conrad's tales.

It follows a European secret agent, Adolf Verloc, 'a London shop owner' with anarchist leanings who becomes reluctantly involved in a plot to blow up the Greenwich Observatory. Full of great characters, melodramatic irony and psychological intrigue the tale is far from simple, involving politicians, policemen, foreign diplomats and London's fashionable society.

This classic was written at a time when terrorist activity was increasing. Due to its themes of anarchism, espionage, and terrorism, the book still retains great interest from its audience and was regularly cited by the American media after the September 11 attacks. The New York Times described it as acquiring 'a kind of cult status as the classic novel for the post-9/11 age.'

Though the story did not attain popularity during Conrad's lifetime it is still considered to be one of his finest novels.

Narrator Biography

Having studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London, David Horovitch has had a television career spanning over 40 years. One of his most notable roles was in 1984 as Detective Inspector Slack in the first BBC Miss Marple adaptation The Body in the Library. Due to the success of his character, he returned for four Christmas specials. He has had roles in other shows such as Just William (1994), Foyle’s War (2002) and Wire in the Blood (2005) as well as film appearances in The Young Victoria (2009), 102 Dalmatians (2000), The Infiltrator (2016) and Mike Leigh’s Mr Turner (2014). A long time star of the stage, in 2015 he played the role of George Frideric Handel in All the Angels by Nick Drake at the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse. As well as narrating numerous audiobooks David Horovitch narrated Audible’s multicast drama The Oedipus Plays.

Public Domain (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

Exceptional reading of a classic from master

The reader is just exceptional.
The text is a classic from one of the great masters.
That said, I got a bit bored. I hoped for a political novel centered around the question of anarchism but instead is centered around the characters of the book. Anarchism is just an excuse to tell a story of some tragic figures.

Thick but in some strange way brilliant

I do not know if I want followed the plot, but I got the gist of it with the help of reading some summaries. But that Conradian intriguing thickness of language and atmosphere. I am not surprised that Pynchon skipped all of his classed to read Conrod. His brilliant language is, in turn, Conradian in nature. As in the case of Lord Jim we have traverse the world of polyphonic universes. I think like I am not saying much- ah whatever. Open your ear to Conrad's sounds and that, in turn, is a reward of its own. The reading by David Threlfall was superb. Oh by way, read/listen to Golden Bowl- relax about verbosity (in a sense you can relax while reading/listen Finnegans Wake)- just let it be.

Elements of Lady MacBeth and Crime & Punishment in a political spy novel but doesn't connect for me

I found the sequencing of the novel hard to follow even though the themes were apparent. The storytelling was just overly verbose that I think detracted from a clear narrative. I also listened while in a car so my focus was split. So at least given that listening scenario, I'm not sure I'd recommended unless you're a real Conrad fan or are looking for a spy novel that leans more on political ideology for it's plot driver (as opposed to like a action-based spy novel).

Good, Though Other Conrad is Better.

Not as good as Nostromo but better than Lord Jim.

-Noah Balfour
03-26-24

Worth a listen!

Wonderful reading of what would otherwise have been a difficult text to get through. I would have loved this narrator to get me through 'Nostomo'- the subtlety of the narration and the voices for each character allow you to really appreciate how amazing a writer Conrad was.

Conrad's Darkest Novel

At the end, I was speechless with horror at the darkness of Contad's view of human nature.

Great story, great narration

Very thought provoking and relevant. The narrator is also gifted- expressive when needed, cold when needed. The demands of this complex drama and the remarkable characters are fully met- thank you.

A Corrupt and Greedy Man

The Secret Agent is an uncompromisingly brutal and penetrating portrayal of a man, Verlock, corrupted by money to betray his country, set against a very satisfactory dynamic of the limits of a wife’s regard for her husband, during a period of anarchy in England.

Amazing Book and Performance

Far from only a good spy novel, this is an incredibly written book and perhaps the best performance I have ever heard.

The world as anti-hero

I love Conrad, I rate "The Heart of Darkness" as his ultimate work, at lest on Audible, for the sense of looming disaster and the oppressive feeling of the world getting darker and darker. This story doesn't chill me until the ending.You think he gives away the ending early in the narrative, but that's the surprise. The darkness in the book is Conrad's view of society, the grim outlook on all levels; the revolutionaries, the police, and the government officials. That is why I link it to Hear of Darkness. This is a theme Conrad comes back to frequently in later works, especially in "Under Western Eyes." Our political world is the "anti-hero" protagonist here. I kept expecting to find a redeemable character, and of course there wasn't one, kind of the point! The narrative is filled with subtle cynicisms, perhaps there could have been more to sustain my interest. There are several sudden cuts to different characters and scenes, a technique I've read attributed to Hemingway, that I wasn't aware of in earlier works by this author. I think my three star rating for the story is due to the slow pace of plot development. Needs an editor. The narration is dramatic and he uses different voices that are fun and illuminate the dialogue. It's worth listening to it to get to the shocking conclusion. The Secret Agent is is rated as one of the best novels of the 20th Century, no. 46 in the Modern Library list.