Heart of Darkness and the Secret Sharer

by Joseph Conrad

Overview

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."

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781627300179
Publisher:	Stonewell Press
Publication date:	10/19/2013
Pages:	148
Sales rank:	1,010,692
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.34(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

A native of Poland, Joseph Conrad (1857-1924) spent his youth at sea, and although relatively ignorant of the English language until the age of twenty, he ultimately became one of the greatest English novelists and stylists. At the age of thirty-two, he decided to try his hand at writing, left the sea, married, and became the father of two sons. Although his work won the admiration of critics, sales were small, and debts and poor health plagued Conrad for many years, until the success of Chance (1913) gave him financial security. Among his best-known works are Lord Jim (1900), Heart of Darkness (1902), The Secret Sharer (1907), Under Western Eyes (1911), and Victory (1915). 
 
Joyce Carol Oates is the author of numerous novels, as well as collections of stories, poetry, and plays. The Roger S. Berlind Distinguished Professor in the Humanities at Princeton University, she is the recipient of numerous literary awards, including the National Book Award, the PEN/Bernard F. Malamud Award for the short story and the Prix Femina.
 
Vince Passaro is the author of Violence, Nudity, Adult Content: A Novel, as well as criticism, essays, and short fiction that have appeared in many national magazines, including Harper's Magazine, Esquire, GQ, Elle, O The Oprah Magazine, The New York Times Sunday Magazine, Story, Open City, Salon.com and others. Both his fiction and essays have been widely anthologized, and he has taught literature and creative writing at New York University and Columbia University.

Date of Birth:

December 3, 1857

Date of Death:

August 3, 1924

Place of Birth:

Berdiczew, Podolia, Russia

Place of Death:

Bishopsbourne, Kent, England

Education:

Tutored in Switzerland. Self-taught in classical literature. Attended maritime school in Marseilles, France