Literary Society Lecture: Professor Robert Hampson on Joseph Conrad’s “The Secret Agent”
Professor Robert Hampson, Professor of Modern Literature at Royal Holloway, University of London, enthused an audience comprising girls, staff and pupils from other schools, including City of London Girls, on Joseph Conrad’s 1907 novel, “The Secret Agent”, on Tuesday 19th January. Beginning with a historical overview of Conrad’s life and career, Professor Hampson proceeded to discuss the significance of the author’s notes that reflect on the novel, its inception and place within Conrad’s canon and the nature of the friendship that existed between Conrad, H.G. Wells and Ford Maddox Ford in the early twentieth century.
Professor Hampson also touched on the claustrophobic presentation of central London in the novel and took questions from the audience, which included discussion of Conrad’s place in the modernist literary movement and interpretations of “The Secret Agent” in a post-9/11 society.
