Misplaced Pages

Joseph Conrad: Difference between revisions

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Browse history interactively← Previous editNext edit →Content deleted Content addedVisualWikitext
Revision as of 19:32, 25 May 2005 edit82.210.143.6 (talk) rv - NPOV policy← Previous edit Revision as of 20:57, 25 May 2005 edit undoPmanderson (talk | contribs)Autopatrolled, Extended confirmed users, Pending changes reviewers62,751 edits The most that should be made of AchebeNext edit →
Line 9: Line 9:


His literary work bridges the gap between the ] literary tradition of writers such as ] and ] and the emergent ] schools of writing. Interestingly, he despised Dostoevsky, and Russian writers as a rule, only making an exception for ]. Conrad is now best known for the ], '']''. His literary work bridges the gap between the ] literary tradition of writers such as ] and ] and the emergent ] schools of writing. Interestingly, he despised Dostoevsky, and Russian writers as a rule, only making an exception for ]. Conrad is now best known for the ], '']''.

''Heart of Darkness'' has been seen, at the time and since, as a bitter attack on ], indeed European, ]. ], however, has that Conrad's language and imagery is inescapably ]. Some would claim that these can both be true.



Joseph Conrad died of a ], and was interred in Canterbury ], ], ], with three mistakes in his name on the ]. Joseph Conrad died of a ], and was interred in Canterbury ], ], ], with three mistakes in his name on the ].



== Novels and Novellas == == Novels and Novellas ==

Revision as of 20:57, 25 May 2005

File:Conrad66.jpg
Joseph Conrad

Joseph Conrad (December 3, 1857 – August 3, 1924) was a Polish-born British novelist. Some of his works have been labeled romantic, although Conrad usually tempers romanticism with the conflicting pulls of realism and the moral ambiguity of modern life. For this reason, many critics have placed him as a forerunner of modernism. Many of Conrad's works center around sailors and the sea.

Born Józef Teodor Nałęcz Konrad Korzeniowski, on December 3, 1857 in Berdyczów (Berdychiv), in what is now Ukraine, Conrad was brought up in Russian-occupied Poland. His father, an impoverished aristocrat, writer, and militant fighter, was arrested by the occupying regime for his patriotic activities, and was sentenced to penal servitude in Siberia. Shortly after this, his mother died of tuberculosis in exile, and so did his father four years later despite being allowed to return to Kraków.

Subsequently Conrad was brought up by his uncle. Conrad eventually abandoned his education at the age of 17 to become a seaman in the French merchant navy. He lived an adventurous, buccaneering life—sailing off Marseille and becoming involved in gunrunning and political conspiracy. In 1878, after attempted suicide, Józef took service on a British ship in order to avoid Russian military service. He gained his Master Mariner's certificate, learned English before the age of 21, to finally become a naturalized Briton in 1884. He first arrived in England at the port of Lowestoft, Suffolk, living in London and later near Canterbury, Kent.

His first novel, Almayer's Folly, a story of Malaysia, was written in English and published in 1895. It should be remembered that the lingua franca of educated people at that time was French, which was Conrad's second language, thus it is altogether remarkable that Conrad should write so fluently and effectively in his third language.

His literary work bridges the gap between the classical literary tradition of writers such as Charles Dickens and Fyodor Dostoevsky and the emergent modernist schools of writing. Interestingly, he despised Dostoevsky, and Russian writers as a rule, only making an exception for Ivan Turgenev. Conrad is now best known for the novella, Heart of Darkness.

Heart of Darkness has been seen, at the time and since, as a bitter attack on Belgian, indeed European, colonialism. Chinua Achebe, however, has argued that Conrad's language and imagery is inescapably racist. Some would claim that these can both be true.


Joseph Conrad died of a heart attack, and was interred in Canterbury Cemetery, Canterbury, England, with three mistakes in his name on the gravestone.


Novels and Novellas

monument of Conrad in Gdynia

Short Stories

  • "The Idiots" (Conrad's first short story; written during his honeymoon, published in "Savoy" and collected in "Tales of Unrest," 1898).
  • "The Black Mate" (written, according to Conrad, in 1886; published 1908; posthumously collected in "Tales of Hearsay," 1925)
  • "The Lagoon" (composed 1896; published in "Cornhill Magazine" 1897; collected in "Tales of Unrest," 1898)
  • "An Outpost of Progress" (written 1896 and named in 1906 by Conrad himself, long after the publication of "Lord Jim" and "Heart of Darkness," as his 'best story'; published in "Cosmopolis" and collected in "Tales of Unrest" ; often compared to "Heart of Darkness," with which it has numerous thematic affinities.)
  • "The Return" (written circa early 1897; never published in magazine form; collected in "Tales of Unrest," 1898; Conrad, presaging the sentiments of most readers, once remarked, "I hate it").
  • "Karain: A Memory" (written February-April 1897; published Nov. 1897 in "Blackwood's" and collected in "Tales of Unrest," 1898).
  • "Typhoon" (novella/story, begun in 1899 and published in "Pall Mall" and "Critic" ; collected in "Typhoon" )
  • "Falk" (novella/story, written in early 1901; collected only in "Typhoon" )
  • "Amy Foster" (composed in 1901; published the "Illustrated London News" and collected in "Typhoon" )
  • "To-morrow" (written early 1902; serialized in "Pall Mall" and collected in "Typhoon" ).
  • "Gaspar Ruiz" (written after "Nostromo" in 1904-05; published in "Strand Magazine" in 1906 and collected in "A Set of Six," 1908 UK/1915 US. This story was the only piece of Conrad's fiction ever adapted by the author for cinema .)
  • "An Anarchist" (written in late 1905; serialized in "Harper's" in 1906; collected in "A Set of Six," 1908 UK/1915 US.)
  • "The Informer" (written before January 1906; published in December 1906 in "Harper's" and collected in "A Set of Six," 1908 UK/1915 US.)
  • "The Brute" (written in early 1906; published in "The Daily Chronicle" in December 1906; collected in "A Set of Six," 1908 UK/1915 US.)
  • "The Duel" (aka "The Point of Honor": serialized in the UK in "Pall Mall" in early 1908 and in the US periodical "Forum" later that year; collected in "A Set of Six" in 1908 and published by Garden City Publishing in 1924.)
  • "Il Conde" (i.e., 'Conte' : appeared in "Cassell's" 1908 and "Hampton's" in 1909; collected in "A Set of Six" )
  • "The Secret Sharer" (written December 1909; published in "Harper's Magazine" and collected in "'Twixt Land and Sea" )
  • "Prince Roman" (written 1910, published in 1911 in the "Oxford and Cambridge Review"; based upon the story of Prince Roman Sanguszko of Poland )
  • "A Smile of Fortune" (a long story, almost a novella, written in mid-1910; published in "London Magazine" in Feb. 1911; collected in "'Twixt Land and Sea" )
  • "Freya of the Seven Isles* (another near-novella, written late 1910-early 1911; published in "Metropolitan Magazine" and "London Magazine" in early 1912 and July 1912, respectively; collected in "'Twixt Land and Sea" ).
  • "The Warrior's Soul" (written late 1915-early 1916; published in "Land and Water" 'in March 1917; collected in "Tales of Hearsay," 1925)
  • "The Tale" (Conrad's only story about WWI; written 1916 and first published 1917 in "Strand Magazine")

External links

Categories: