The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad, is a classic novel based on actual events, the attempt to blow up the Greenwich Observatory in 1894. The fictionalized tale revolves around a beautiful, young wife, her simple-minded brother, and her devoted but tortured husband. The novel is a mixture of love story, espionage, and mystery that continues to entertain many years after its original publication date. The novel opens as Mr. Verloc, a storeowner, makes his way to an appointment at an Embassy in London. At this meeting, Mr. Verloc is revealed to be a secret agent for the French government and is accused of no longer being productive in this capacity. In the past, the Ambassador was a man who trusted Mr. Verloc completely. However, there is a new man in charge now. He is a man of action, who expects all in his employ to also be men of action. This man, Mr. Vladimir, suggests to Mr. Verloc that he create a situation to excite the emotions of the people of London, by setting off a bomb in some scientific place.