The Chinese Agent
Encyclopedia
The Chinese Agent is a comic novel by Michael Moorcock
. It is a revision of Somewhere in the Night, which Moorcock published in 1966 under the pseudonym Bill Barclay. Although Moorcock is best known as the author of science fiction-based parables such as Behold the Man
and The Dancers at the End of Time
, here he writes a light-hearted caper that parodies the spy novel genre.
The Chinese Agent was recently reissued in the United Kingdom
as Jerry Cornell's Comic Capers. The new edition includes a sequel, The Russian Intelligence (1980).
, is dreamily casing the Tower of London
when a strange man approaches him and says "The crown is large." Hodgkiss, nonplussed, replies "And very heavy", unwittingly giving the correct countersign. The man, a spy, thrusts a parcel at Hodgkiss and disappears. Hodgkiss keeps the parcel, hoping to turn it in some way to his advantage.
Soon afterward, Jerry Cornell receives a new assignment: he is to discover the whereabouts of plans for "Project Glass," which have been stolen. Although the thief has been caught, the plans are still missing, and are believed to be in the hands of a fiendish Chinese agent named Kung Fu Tzu. Meanwhile, Kung is hopping mad because he never actually got the plans; they were given to Hodgkiss by mistake.
The comedy of errors intensifies as Cornell tracks Kung, who in turn follows Hodgkiss, who eludes Kung but finds trouble aplenty when he tries to steal a brooch from a stall on Portobello Road.
As the absurd characters frantically chase each other through the heart of London, Moorcock offers both lively comic adventure and a bizarre (but oddly affectionate) look at the city's slumdwellers. London's Portobello Road
, for example, with its hardbitten costermonger
s, becomes nothing less than a force of nature: when Hodgkiss, a world-renowned jewel thief, tries to lift a brooch from a Portobello merchant's stall, he is hunted down like a dog. A still better example is Jerry's odious Uncle Edmond, who is so fantastically dirty that the rubbish pile in his yard has congealed and come to life. When two communist operatives try to intimidate him, he sneaks up behind them and pushes them into the quivering pile, escaping while they fight to extricate themselves from its gelatinous embrace.
Michael Moorcock
Michael John Moorcock is an English writer, primarily of science fiction and fantasy, who has also published a number of literary novels....
. It is a revision of Somewhere in the Night, which Moorcock published in 1966 under the pseudonym Bill Barclay. Although Moorcock is best known as the author of science fiction-based parables such as Behold the Man
Behold the Man
Behold the Man is a science fiction novel by Michael Moorcock. It originally appeared as a novella in a 1966 issue of New Worlds; later, Moorcock produced an expanded version which was first published in 1969 by Allison & Busby.. The title derives from the Gospel of John, Chapter 19, Verse 5:...
and The Dancers at the End of Time
The Dancers at the End of Time
The title of this volume comes from the poem "The Last Word" by Ernest Dowson.Reunited at the end of Time, Jherek and the other inhabitants of the End of Time have returned to their preferred amusements of parties and games. They are interrupted by a ship of alien musician/pirates, the Lat...
, here he writes a light-hearted caper that parodies the spy novel genre.
The Chinese Agent was recently reissued in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
as Jerry Cornell's Comic Capers. The new edition includes a sequel, The Russian Intelligence (1980).
Characters
- Jeremiah "Jerry" Cornell is a handsome but slightly seedy LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
er whose shady past might have sent him to prison, were it not for certain skills that make him more valuable as an agent for British Intelligence. His name, with the initials "J.C.", is one of the author's trademarks: other Moorcock protagonists include Jherek Carnelian and Jerry CorneliusJerry CorneliusJerry Cornelius is a fictional secret agent and adventurer created by science fiction / fantasy author Michael Moorcock. Cornelius is a hipster of ambiguous and occasionally polymorphous sexuality. Many of the same characters feature in each of several Cornelius books, though the individual books...
.
- Arnold Hodgkiss is a young Chinese American patent attorneyPatent attorneyA patent attorney is an attorney who has the specialized qualifications necessary for representing clients in obtaining patents and acting in all matters and procedures relating to patent law and practice, such as filing an opposition...
whose secret identity is "Jewellery Jules." He is a notorious jewel thief who has never been caught, or even suspected.
- Shirley Withers is a receptionist at the National Insurance Company (aka Cell 87), where she and Jerry both work. She initially dislikes him, mostly because she can never remember his name; she keeps calling him "Mr. Cornelius." Later, she becomes Jerry's girlfriend, and, although he thinks it's only a temporary arrangement, she has other ideas.
- Kung Fu Tzu, the Chinese agent of the title, is in London to steal plans for "Project Glass", a powerful new laser technology. He becomes convinced, through a series of accidents, that Jerry is a super agent of James BondJames BondJames Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
calibre.
- The Cornells, Jerry's blood relatives, are an assortment of hideously depraved petty thieves, most of whom live together in a filthy hovel in London's slums. The most disgusting of them, Uncle Edmond, is a junk dealer with a semi-sentient middenMiddenA midden, is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, vermin, shells, sherds, lithics , and other artifacts and ecofacts associated with past human occupation...
heap in his yard.
Plot introduction
Arnold Hodgkiss, a jewel thief who has come to London to steal the Crown JewelsCrown jewels
Crown jewels are jewels or artifacts of the reigning royal family of their respective country. They belong to monarchs and are passed to the next sovereign to symbolize the right to rule. They may include crowns, sceptres, orbs, swords, rings, and other objects...
, is dreamily casing the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
when a strange man approaches him and says "The crown is large." Hodgkiss, nonplussed, replies "And very heavy", unwittingly giving the correct countersign. The man, a spy, thrusts a parcel at Hodgkiss and disappears. Hodgkiss keeps the parcel, hoping to turn it in some way to his advantage.
Soon afterward, Jerry Cornell receives a new assignment: he is to discover the whereabouts of plans for "Project Glass," which have been stolen. Although the thief has been caught, the plans are still missing, and are believed to be in the hands of a fiendish Chinese agent named Kung Fu Tzu. Meanwhile, Kung is hopping mad because he never actually got the plans; they were given to Hodgkiss by mistake.
The comedy of errors intensifies as Cornell tracks Kung, who in turn follows Hodgkiss, who eludes Kung but finds trouble aplenty when he tries to steal a brooch from a stall on Portobello Road.
Comments
Moorcock's comic instincts show through, sometimes darkly, in many of his works; here, he gives them free rein. Nobody dies, either - at least, not permanently.As the absurd characters frantically chase each other through the heart of London, Moorcock offers both lively comic adventure and a bizarre (but oddly affectionate) look at the city's slumdwellers. London's Portobello Road
Portobello Road
Portobello Road is a street in the Notting Hill district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in west London, England. It runs almost the length of Notting Hill from south to north, roughly parallel with Ladbroke Grove. On Saturdays it is home to Portobello Road Market, one of London's...
, for example, with its hardbitten costermonger
Costermonger
Costermonger, or simply Coster, is a street seller of fruit and vegetables, in London and other British towns. They were ubiquitous in mid-Victorian England, and some are still found in markets. As usual with street-sellers, they would use a loud sing-song cry or chant to attract attention...
s, becomes nothing less than a force of nature: when Hodgkiss, a world-renowned jewel thief, tries to lift a brooch from a Portobello merchant's stall, he is hunted down like a dog. A still better example is Jerry's odious Uncle Edmond, who is so fantastically dirty that the rubbish pile in his yard has congealed and come to life. When two communist operatives try to intimidate him, he sneaks up behind them and pushes them into the quivering pile, escaping while they fight to extricate themselves from its gelatinous embrace.