Books by Joseph Conrad

This latest volume in the highly respected Cambridge Edition of the Works of Joseph Conrad offers the first comprehensive critical edition of Conrad's once highly popular, now sometimes overlooked, novel, The Rover (1923), which explores large themes of personal and national identity, loyalty and love in a historical setting.

This new edition of Tales of Unrest is fully annotated and it's complete with a comprehensive section on Conrad's life and works.

Two books in one. Loosely based on an experience in Joseph Conrad's life, Heart of Darkness tells the story of one man's journey into darkest Africa--and the darkness of the human heart. Both thoughtful and compelling, Heart of Darkness takes measure of "the thin line between civilization and barbarity." The Secret Sharer, likewise based on an actual accident at sea, is an exciting adventure tale that reveals truths about human nature on several levels. Albert J. Guerard of Stanford University wrote that these two stories are "among the finest of Conrad's short novels, and among the half-dozen greatest short novels in the English language." And Virginia Woolf wrote of Conrad, "His books are full of moments of vision. They light up a whole character in a flash. . . . He could not write badly, one feels, to save his life."

The Secret Sharer, actual accident at sea, is an exciting adventure tale that reveals truths about human nature on several levels. Albert J. Guerard of Stanford University wrote that these two stories are "among the finest of Conrad's short novels, and among the half-dozen greatest short novels in the English language." And Virginia Woolf wrote of Conrad, "His books are full of moments of vision. They light up a whole character in a flash. . . . He could not write badly, one feels, to save his life."

Loosely based on an experience in Joseph Conrad's life, this short novel tells the story of one man's journey into darkest Africa--and the darkness of the human heart. Both thoughtful and compelling, The Heart of Darkness takes measure of "the thin line between civilization and barbarity." Virginia Woolf wrote of Conrad, "His books are full of moments of vision. They light up a whole character in a flash. . . . He could not write badly, one feels, to save his life."

Following his epic "Moby Dick in Pictures," artist Matt Kish has set himself upon an equally impressive, and no less harrowing, task: illustrating each page of Joseph Conrad's masterpiece, "Heart of Darkness." Kish's rich, imaginative drawings and paintings mirror Conrad's original text and illuminate Marlow's journey into the heart of the Congo, and into the depths of the human soul. "Heart of Darkness" is a text ripe for analysis and argument, formally and thematically; it explores matters of imperialism, racism, gender, and the duality of human nature. Kish's illustrations add another layer, and another voice in the conversation. His visual interpretation of "Heart of Darkness" is not just essential for fans and students of Conrad; it's a work of art all its own. Kish's introduction lends context to his approach, details his relationship and struggle with Conrad's work, and illuminates his own creative process. An index in the rear of the book catalogs the sentences and phrases that inspired each of the one hundred original pieces of art.

The Children of the Sea is the first US release of Joseph Conrad's novella The Nigger of the 'Narcissus': A Tale of the Sea.The Nigger of the 'Narcissus': A Tale of the Sea (1897) is a novella by Joseph Conrad. Because of its quality compared to earlier works, some have described it as marking the start of Conrad's major (middle) period; others have placed it as the best work of his early (first) period. John G. Peters said of it in 2006:"The unfortunately titled The Nigger of the "Narcissus" (titled Children of the Sea in the first American edition) is Conrad's best work of his early period. In fact, were it not for the book's title, it undoubtedly would be read more often than it is currently. At one time, it was one of Conrad's most frequently read books. In part because of its brevity, in part because of its adventure qualities, and in part because of its literary qualities, the novel used to attract a good deal of attention."The author's preface to the novel, regarded as a manifesto of literary impressionism, is considered one of Conrad's significant pieces of non-fiction writing.The titular character, James Wait, is a West Indian black sailor on board the merchant ship Narcissus sailing from Bombay to London. Wait falls ill with tuberculosis during the voyage, and his plight arouses the humanitarian sympathies of many of the crew, five of whom rescue him from his deck cabin during a storm, placing their own lives and the ship at risk. Captain Alistoun and the old sailor Singleton, on the other hand, remain concerned primarily with their duties as sailors and are indifferent to Wait's condition.The novel is seen as an allegory about isolation and solidarity, the ship's company serving as a microcosm of a social group. Conrad appears to suggest that humanitarian sympathies are, at their core, feelings of self-interest and that a heightened sensitivity to suffering can be detrimental to managing a society.In the United States, the novel was first published with the title The Children of the Sea: A Tale of the Forecastle, at the insistence by the publisher, Dodd, Mead and Company, that no one would buy or read a book with the word Nigger in its title. In 2009, in an effort 'to remove this offence to modern sensibilities', WordBridge Publishing reissued the book under the title The N-word of the Narcissus.

An unabridged, unaltered edition of The Secret Sharer, to include the classic story, Youth: A Narrative, at book's end.