Worthy but very slow....I see now why I couldn't get into the book. It isn't even very gripping in film form.
Vicky McClure is fabulous, though. A proper actor.

Generally I love Joseph Conrads's novels (a Polish sea captain who taught himself perfect English to write novels - amazing) but The Secret Agent isn't his best.

Have you read Heart of Darkness? It's a lot shorter (a novella really) and absolutely bloody brilliant - about a trip up the Congo river to find a Belgian called Kurtz who's gone native. It's the book Coppola based Apocalypse Now on - minus the drug taking and general craziness and plus an unforgettable description of European colonialists wreaking havoc in the heart of Africa.

I agree it's a pretty impressive thing to be able to write fluently in another language. But I just don't get on with Conrad. Yes, I've read Heart of Darkness, and have to agree again on its merits.

But I don't like his style. For me, it's how I imagine walking through treacle would feel.