Alma Books The Secret Agent Конрад Джозеф

Read the world’s first political thriller • London is under threat. It has become a haven for political exiles and anarchists. Frequent bomb threats and disturbances interrupt the lives of the city's inhabitants, who live in fear of the terrorists in their midst. One such terrorist is Verloc. He is the secret agent who is given the mission to strike right at the heart of London's pride by blowing up Greenwich Observatory. But his decision to drag his innocent family into the plot leads to tragic consequences on a more personal than political level

The Penguin English Library Edition of The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad • 'Madness and despair! Give me that for a lever, and I'll move the world' • In the only novel Conrad set in London, The Secret Agent communicates a profoundly ironic view of human affairs. The story is woven around an attack on the Greenwich Observatory in 1894 masterminded by Verloc, a Russian spy working for the police, and ostensibly a member of an anarchist group in Soho. His masters instruct him to discredit the anarchists in a humiliating fashion, and when his evil plan goes horribly awry, Verlac must deal with the repercussions of his actions • The Penguin English Library - 100 editions of the best fiction written in English, from the eighteenth century and the very first novels, to the beginning of the First World War

The Secret Agent is Joseph Conrad's dark satire on English society, edited with an introduction and notes by Michael Newton in Penguin Classics • In the only novel Conrad set in London, The Secret Agent communicates a profoundly ironic view of human affairs. The story is woven around an attack on the Greenwich Observatory in 1894 masterminded by Verloc, a Russian spy working for the police, and ostensibly a member of an anarchist group in Soho. His masters instruct him to discredit the anarchists in a humiliating fashion, and when his evil plan goes horribly awry, Verloc must deal with the repercussions of his actions. While rooted in the Edwardian period, Conrad's tale remains strikingly contemporary, with its depiction of Londoners gripped by fear of the terrorists living in their midst

Published in 1907, Conrad's compelling tale of anarchy, espionage and violence is set in the seedy back streets of Victorian London where Adolf Verloc, a shopkeeper who is also a secret agent, is assigned the task of blowing up the Greenwich Observatory

"Чудовищный город" Конрада - Лондон, а его история о шпионаже и контршпионаже, анархистах и посольствах - детективная история это становится историей упорства Винни Верлок в сохранении своей преданности своему странному и простодушному брату Стиви, в то время как они ведут свою самую обычную жизнь над довольно сомнительным магазином на задворках Сохо. Однако "Секретный агент" - самый смешной роман Джозефа Конрада, далекий от сентиментальной картины. Его жестоко остроумная картина человеческого абсурда и непонимания написана в ироничном стиле, который вызывает смех и беспокойство одновременно, и который продолжает представлять одно из самых тревожных видений стремления и тщетности в литературе двадцатого века • Книга на английском языке • 'Then the vision of an enormous town presented itself, of a monstrous town

В "Тайном агенте" выведен завербованный посольством одной восточной державы (подразумевается Российская империя) человек лондонского "подполья", вынужденный под давлением своего "куратора" из посольства организовать взрыв Королевской обсерватории в Гринвиче - ради международной борьбы с террором изобразить покушение на сами основы западной цивилизации и науки. Конрад подробно описывает, как полиция идет по следу преступника и какие коллизии возникают среди самих полицейских чинов в связи с раскрытием этой тайны; сочными красками рисует портреты анархистов, семейную трагедию заглавного персонажа, который оказывается характерным конрадовским двойником: одновременно и антигероем, и героем "наоборот". Этот утонченно-психологический роман нередко считается наиболее ярким сатирическим произведением Джозефа Конрада, он пронизан иронией и черным юмором

These five stories were collected and published as Tales of Unrest in 1898, shortly before Heart of Darkness, the first of Conrad's major novels. Ranging from the faraway and unfamiliar, where the acquisitiveness of colonial adventure is damningly exposed, to an ostensibly ordinary London household, these disparate tales display Conrad's ability to explore and lay bare human nature • Set in Central Africa, 'An Outpost of Progress' is suffused with irony and represents a ruthlessly mocking view of European imperialism. 'Karain' and 'The Lagoon' are exotic tales of the Malay Archipelago, with the former telling of disharmony and discord between Western traders and the indigenous inhabitants. 'The Return' recounts the story of, in the author's own words, "a desirable middle-class town residence which somehow manages to produce a sinister effect"

On a boat in the Thames estuary, Marlow tells his travelling companions of his reconnaissance expedition for a Belgian trading company to its most remote outpost in central Africa, which brought him on the trail of the elusive Kurtz, a brilliant idealist gone rogue. His account relates not only the perils he encounters on his quest, but also the deterioration of his state of mind as he is confronted with a world that is hostile and alien to him • Renowned for its stylistic boldness and dramatic descriptions, Heart of Darkness is a stark yet subtle examination of the powers of the subconscious and the workings of western imperialism. This edition includes Conrad’s Complete Congo Diary

После смерти родителей девочке Мэри Леннокс пришлось перебраться из Индии в Англию, в стоящее среди болот мрачное поместье её дяди. Поначалу она несчастна, ей одиноко и не с кем играть, но однажды она узнаёт, что в имении есть некий таинственный сад, куда никому нельзя ходить. А потом она находит старый ключ и вслед за ним, как по волшебству, потаённую дверь. Она поворачивает ключ в замочной скважине и попадает в невообразимый мир, околдовывающий её саму и всех вокруг. Например, её новых друзей, одарённого мальчика Дикона и Колина, кузена Мэри • «Таинственный сад» – нестареющая классика, вполне способная очаровать читателей всех возрастов. Эта повесть об исцелении и душевных травм и личностном преображении по праву считается одной из самых известных англоязычных книг для детей и подростков

Throughout his life, Rudyard Kipling was fond of dogs, and while they featured prominently in early tales such as ‘The Dog Hervey’ and ‘Garm – a Hostage’, he later came up with the innovative idea of writing a story from the perspective of a dog, resulting in the hugely successful ‘Thy Servant a Dog’, narrated by an Aberdeen terrier named Boots • This collection, published in the author’s lifetime, gathers Kipling’s dog stories written throughout his career, providing a warm tribute to man’s best friend and showcasing the lively storytelling talents of one of Britain’s most enduringly popular writers • Contains: ‘Private Learoyd’s Story’, ‘Garm – A Hostage’, ‘The Power of the Dog’, ‘Quiquern’, ‘ The Dog Hervey’, ‘Dinah in Heaven’, ‘The Woman in His Life’, ‘Four-Feet’, ‘Thy Servant a Dog’, ‘The Great Play Hunt’, ‘Toby Dog’, ‘The Supplication of the Black Aberdeen’, ‘His Apologies’, ‘A Sea Dog’

First published in 1921, this volume collects some of the most comical stories Kipling published throughout his writing career. These tales derive their humour from absurd situations - a drunken Irish soldier waking up to find himself worshipped as a god in the Indian holy city of Benares, a monkey let loose in an English village - and from lampooning the attitudes and discourses of the time • While presenting many aspects which will be familiar to Kipling readers - rollicking adventures, exotic locales and an interest in the animal world - these Humorous Tales explore the more light-hearted and amusing side to the great master's work

Roberta, Phyllis and Peter have their comfortable lives in London thrown into disarray by the unexpected disappearance of their father. They are forced to move to a small cottage in the countryside with their mother, who struggles to make ends meet by writing books. The children find solace in a stretch of railway track and the station nearby, and befriend the railway porter, who teaches them about running the station, and an old gentleman who takes the 9.15 train every day. Through this love of the trains they are led on many exciting adventures, including a quest to discover the secret of their father's disappearance • One of the most popular children's books ever written, E. Nesbit's tale has enchanted generations of readers since it was first released in 1906