The agent: Classic Book Guide and Free Edition
The agent: author and translator credits, catalogue synopsis, subjects and links to the Gutenberg reading formats.
The agent is catalogued by Project Gutenberg with author credits for Marlowe, Stephen (1928–2008).
Catalogue synopsis
Project Gutenberg supplies this automated synopsis of the opening text:
The agent by Stephen Marlowe is a science fiction short story written in the mid-20th century. It follows struggling stage performers who are recruited by a strange theatrical agent and unexpectedly carried to Mars, where their Earth-style entertainment becomes a cultural revelation for a planet that has never known show business. The narrator, Mike Hennesy, a hungry crooner, tags along with aging actress Vera to a remote “agency” run by Quontas Quoron and his brother Meldon. Along with a roomful of has-beens, they’re hired without auditions, fed odd “food” cubes, and then jolted by thunder and weightlessness as the office reveals itself to be a spaceship. They land on Mars, whose hardworking inhabitants lack any form of entertainment, and the troupe instantly becomes a sensation. While Mike hums standards until he learns the language, the group stages pantomimes like Romeo and Juliet; even Vera captivates audiences starved for glamour. A ventriloquist founds a performers’ union that limits new arrivals, preserving their novelty and livelihoods. As they tour the canal-linked cities, Vera launches a beauticians’ movement, rumors swirl that the dazzling secretary is a robot, and Mike and Vera marry—thriving as marquee names in a world newly awakened to art and amusement.
Book and edition facts
- Title: The agent
- Author credits: Marlowe, Stephen (1928–2008)
- Catalogue language: English
Catalogue subjects
- Entertainers -- Fiction
- Science fiction
- Short stories
- Talent scouts -- Fiction
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View the complete Gutenberg catalogue record. Project Gutenberg identifies this edition as public domain in the United States; that designation does not establish its copyright status in every country.
Source notes
Catalogue metadata is public domain and is supplied through Gutendex, which imports Gutenberg's machine-readable catalogue. The automated synopsis is source-supplied, not an independently verified review. Author dates above describe the credited people; no ebook release date is presented as the book's original publication date.
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