20 Greatest Spy Books Ever Written

12. "The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale" (1907) - Joseph Conrad

98 Another early-20th Century masterpiece, Joseph Conrad's 1907 book "The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale" deals with Russian spy Mr Verloc and his time in London in the 1880s. Verloc owns a seedy book and photograph store selling "photographs of more or less undressed dancing girls", but he soon moves into the realm of terrorism and espionage when he is recruited by a group of anarchists to destroy Greenwich Observatory. Things do not go according to plan, and this early terrorism-led plotline deals with issues that are still relevant to this day - and that's why it was the third-most-searched book in the two weeks following the 9/11 attacks in 2001. Frighteningly realistic and relevant, this is a must read.
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NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.