The Anarchist's Wife: Joseph Conrad's Debt to Sensation Fiction in "The Secret Agent"

The story of Winnie Verloc, as Joseph Conrad termed The Secret Agent, seems something of an unlikely description for a novel whose title promises international intrigue and duplicity. The novel also explores both possibilities, showing the complicated resonance of political act in the lives of indiv...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Conradiana 2004-03, Vol.36 (1/2), p.51-63
Main Author: HARRINGTON, ELLEN BURTON
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Braddon, Mary Elizabeth (1837-1915)
Collins, Wilkie (1824-1889)
Conrad, Joseph
Conrad, Joseph (1857-1924)
Criticism and interpretation
Dickens, Charles (1812-1870)
English fiction
Fiction
Literary criticism
Novels
Perceptions
Politics
Wood, Ellen (Mrs Henry) (1814-1887)
Writers
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Summary:The story of Winnie Verloc, as Joseph Conrad termed The Secret Agent, seems something of an unlikely description for a novel whose title promises international intrigue and duplicity. The novel also explores both possibilities, showing the complicated resonance of political act in the lives of individuals and highlighting the intrigue and duplicity common to the domestic sphere in addition to the political one. Harrington argues that The Secret Agent should be read in terms of a third genre, the Victorian sensation novel, which also provides a frame of reference for Conrad's dark novel.
ISSN:0010-6356
1935-0252