The Chinese Agent
1970 novel by Michael Moorcock
The Chinese Agent (1970) is a comic novel by Michael Moorcock. It is a revision of Somewhere in the Night, which Moorcock first published in 1966 under the pseudonym Bill Barclay. Although Moorcock is best known as the author of fantasy fiction and 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).
Characters
Jeremiah "Jerry" Cornell is a handsome but slightly seedy Londoner 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 Cornelius.
Arnold Hodgkiss is a young Chinese American patent attorney 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.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “The Chinese Agent” as 1970 novel by Michael Moorcock. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the arts & letters register because the source frames it as 1970 novel by Michael Moorcock. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 5, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7722550. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1970, 1966 and 1980.
Rights, attribution and provenance may remain disputed even when a general reference summary presents a stable account. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
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The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “The Chinese Agent”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow The Chinese Agent primary sources, The Chinese Agent archive and Chinese research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “The Chinese Agent” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.