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Article: The Secret Agent.(News)
- Article from:
- Western Mail (Cardiff, Wales)
- Article date:
- January 31, 2006
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2006 MGN Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: By DARREN DEVINE Western Mail
What makes a great novel? One of the defining qualities of any great novel must be the ability to stand the test of time. The ability to address not only contemporary concerns, but to say something that will still ring true in two or three generations' time. By this standard, Joseph Conrad's The Secret Agent can lay a more than credible claim to greatness. Set in late 19th-century London, the story tells of how shopkeeper Mr Verloc is first paid by the Russian authorities to spy on a group of radicals before he becomes embroiled ...