The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale
The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale by Joseph Conrad is available here as the complete public-domain text, split into 1237 reading sections of 5 sentences, each with audio and tap-to-define vocabulary.
The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale by Joseph Conrad. Complete public-domain text from Project Gutenberg eBook #974.
Course Syllabus
This syllabus gives direct access to every published chapter and its complete sequence of five-line English readings.
The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale
Select a chapter to continue in the Cinema Lecture Hall with line-by-line English learning.
0 of 1232 original contextual illustrations are live; remaining readings use the book cover while their artwork is reviewed.
This edition of The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale by Joseph Conrad carries the complete text of Project Gutenberg eBook #974, divided into 13 chapters and 1237 reading sections of 5 sentences each. Every sentence of the source is kept, and each chapter records which sentences cover which part of the story. Any word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry, and each section carries a contextual illustration generated from the passage itself.
Where can I read The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale in full?
The complete text of The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale is here, taken from Project Gutenberg eBook #974 and divided into 1237 sections.
This page carries the whole of The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale by Joseph Conrad, not an abridgement or a summary. The text comes from Project Gutenberg eBook #974, a public-domain edition, with the Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence removed so that only the work itself remains. It runs to 6185 sentences across 13 chapters. Each chapter stores a record of which sentences cover which part of the work, so nothing is quietly dropped between the source edition and the page you read.
How is The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale divided for reading?
The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale is presented in 13 chapters, each split into sections of 5 sentences for steady reading.
Rather than presenting The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale as unbroken pages, the text is grouped into 1237 sections of 5 sentences each. A section is short enough to hold in mind at once, which suits a reader working in a second language or returning to a long work in short sittings. The 13 chapters follow the divisions of the source edition, and each section carries a contextual illustration drawn from the passage it accompanies rather than a stock image.
Can I hear The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale read aloud?
Yes. Every sentence and every individual word of The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale can be played aloud, and each word shows its dictionary entry.
Every sentence of The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale can be played aloud, and so can any single word within it. Tapping a word plays it on its own and opens its dictionary entry, with the pronunciation shown in IPA alongside the part of speech and meaning. The reading voice uses United States English. This matters most for a work of this period, where a reader meets vocabulary and turns of phrase that are no longer in daily use and cannot be guessed reliably from spelling alone.
Questions about reading The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale
Common questions about reading The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale by Joseph Conrad on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Is this the complete text of The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale?
Yes. All 6185 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #974 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Which edition of The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale is used?
Project Gutenberg eBook #974, a public-domain edition. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
How long does The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale take to read?
About 515 minutes of reading across 1237 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to read The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale section by section
How to work through The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
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Open a chapter
Choose one of the 13 chapters of The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale to begin.
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Read one section
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
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Listen and tap
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Vocabulary met early in The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale
Words and structures a reader meets early in The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
- Verloc
- A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
- Going
- A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
- Morning
- A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.
- Nominally
- A word that appears in the opening chapter of The Secret Agent: A Simple Tale; the reader can tap it to hear it and see its dictionary entry.