The Secret Agent: Study Guide
Chapter 1
Questions and Answers
1. What did Mr. Verloc sell in his shop?
Mr. Verloc sold a few books and papers.
2. What did Mr. Verloc like about his home life?
He enjoyed his home life; it was peaceful, and he liked being looked after by Winnie.
3. What was Stevie like?
Stevie was a good-looking boy but not very clever.
4. Why was Stevie’s first job unsuccessful?
He was forgetting the messages, as he was distracted by cats or dogs.
5. Who was Mr. Verloc’s “other employer”, and what was his job?
Mr. Verloc was a secret agent.
6. Who was Mr. Vladimir?
Mr. Vladimir was the First Secretary of the Embassy.
7. What did Mr. Vladimir want Mr. Verloc to do? Why?
Mr. Vladimir wanted Mr. Verloc to orchestrate a bombing. He criticized Verloc, saying, “You are too fat to be a secret agent” because he had not provoked anything in the last three years.
8. How did Mr. Verloc feel at his meeting with Mr. Vladimir?
He felt angry and worried.
Chapter 2
Questions and Answers
1. Why was Michaelis freed from prison?
Michaelis was freed from prison because he did not cause any trouble as a prisoner.
2. Why did Verloc envy the anarchists?
Verloc envied the anarchists because they did not have to take any action.
3. Why did Stevie become frightened?
Stevie became frightened because he heard Yundt talking angrily.
4. Why did Verloc open the door into the kitchen?
Verloc opened the door into the kitchen because it was too hot in the room.
5. Why did Verloc have to do what Mr. Vladimir said?
Verloc had to do what Mr. Vladimir said because he needed his job at the embassy.
6. Why could Verloc not sleep?
Verloc could not sleep because he was worried about Mr. Vladimir’s order.
7. Why did Ossipon ask the Professor about the bomb in Greenwich Park?
Ossipon asked the Professor about the bomb in Greenwich Park because the Professor was an expert on explosives.
8. Why did the Professor give Verloc the explosives?
The Professor gave Verloc the explosives because he was a well-known anarchist.
9. Why did the Professor think that Verloc died?
The Professor thought that Verloc died because he dropped the bomb by mistake.
10. Why did Ossipon think that the police would not be able to identify the body?
Ossipon thought that the police would not be able to identify the body because it was blown to pieces by the bomb.
11. Why did Ossipon want to go to Verloc’s shop?
Ossipon wanted to go to Verloc’s shop because he wanted to see if Mrs. Verloc had any money.
Chapter 3
Questions and Answers
1. Why did the bomb explode?
The bomb exploded because the person carrying it fell down.
2. What could Inspector Heat read on the piece of material?
Inspector Heat could read an address on the piece of material.
3. What did Inspector Heat do with the address?
Inspector Heat put the address in his pocket and took it with him.
Chapter 4
Questions and Answers
1. Why didn’t the Assistant Commissioner want to arrest Michaelis?
The arrest of Michaelis would make his married life difficult.
2. Why did Heat finally tell the Assistant Commissioner about the address?
Heat finally told the Assistant Commissioner about the address because he realized he wasn’t able to arrest Michaelis.
3. What did Verloc give Heat in exchange for Heat’s protection?
Verloc gave Heat information in exchange for Heat’s protection.
4. How did the Assistant Commissioner react when he learned about Heat’s relationship with Verloc?
When the Assistant Commissioner learned about Heat’s relationship with Verloc, he was amused.
5. Who was Sir Ethelred?
Sir Ethelred was a superior police officer.
Chapter 6
Questions and Answers
1. What three things surprised Mr. Verloc when he returned home?
- Stevie picked up his bag.
- Stevie picked up his hat.
- Stevie wanted to go for a walk with him.
2. What did Winnie think when she saw Mr. Verloc and Stevie walking down the street?
She thought they looked like father and son.
3. Where did Mr. Verloc take Stevie?
Mr. Verloc took Stevie to the country.
4. Why do you think Mr. Verloc took all their money out of the bank?
He needed it soon.
5. What did Mr. Verloc propose to Winnie?
Verloc proposed to move to France.
6. How did Winnie react to this proposal?
She said she would stay at her house.
7. How did Winnie know about the embassy?
Because Mr. Verloc spoke while he was sleeping.
8. What did Mr. Verloc give to Winnie just before leaving the shop?
The money.
9. Who was the tall, thin man with a mustache who came to the shop?
The Assistant Commissioner.
Chapter 8
Questions and Answers
1. Why did the Assistant Commissioner tell the old lady that Michaelis was not involved in the bomb attack?
He wanted her to know that it was safe to see Michaelis in public.
2. Who did the wealthy lady introduce to the Assistant Commissioner?
Mr. Verloc’s other employer (Mr. Vladimir).
3. What did Winnie do after Inspector Heat left?
She sat silently.
4. How does Winnie’s reaction to Stevie’s death make her husband feel?
Confused and uneasy.
5. How did Winnie murder her husband?
Winnie murdered her husband calmly and slowly.
General Questions and Answers
1. Who was Stevie to Mr. Verloc?
Stevie was Mr. Verloc’s brother-in-law.
2. Whose idea was it to attack the Greenwich Observatory?
Vladimir’s.
3. What was Ossipon well-known for?
Ossipon was well-known for seducing wealthy women.
4. Why did Mr. Verloc need to keep his job at the embassy?
Mr. Verloc needed to keep his job at the embassy because the shop did not make enough money.
5. How did Inspector Heat discover that Verloc was involved in the attack?
He found Verloc’s address in the coat of the dead man (Stevie).
6. What did Inspector Heat know about the two men with the bomb?
Inspector Heat knew the two men with the bomb had come from the countryside.
7. Why didn’t the Assistant Commissioner want to arrest Michaelis?
The arrest of Michaelis would make his married life difficult.
8. Why did Stevie jump out of the carriage?
Stevie jumped out of the carriage because the driver kept whipping the horse.
9. Why did Winnie put a label in Stevie’s coat?
Winnie put a label in Stevie’s coat in case he got lost when he went to visit his mother.
10. Where did Verloc take Stevie to prepare him for the attack?
To Michaelis’s cottage in the country.
11. What did Verloc do after he ran away from Greenwich Park?
He took out all his money from the bank.
12. How did Winnie find out about Stevie’s death?
Inspector Heat told her.
13. Who did Winnie meet in the street after she killed her husband?
Ossipon.
14. What did Ossipon say he was going to do with Winnie?
Ossipon said that he was going to take Winnie to France.