Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

by Joseph Conrad

Overview

"As powerful a condemnation of imperialism as has ever been written, and still a deeply unsettling read more than a century on." -Phil Mongredien ; The Guardian

Heart of Darkness (1899) is a novella by Polish-British novelist Joseph Conrad about a narrated voyage up the Congo River into the Congo Free State in the Heart of Africa.

Charles Marlow, the narrator, tells his story to friends aboard a boat anchored on the River Thames. This setting provides the frame for Marlow's story of his obsession with the ivory trader Kurtz, which enables Conrad to create a parallel between what Conrad calls "the greatest town on earth", London, and Africa as places of darkness.

Central to Conrad's work is the idea that there is little difference between "civilised people" and those described as "savages"; Heart of Darkness raises questions about imperialism and racism.

Heart of Darkness has been widely re-published and translated into many languages. It provided the inspiration for Francis Ford Coppola's 1979 film Apocalypse Now. In 1998, the Modern Library ranked Heart of Darkness 67th on their list of the 100 best novels in English of the twentieth century.

A True Classic that Belongs on Every Bookshelf!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781668506455
Publisher:	Barnes & Noble Press
Publication date:	06/30/2021
Pages:	82
Sales rank:	43,663
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.20(d)

About the Author

Best known for his novella Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad (1857–1924) was a Polish–British author. Although not a native English speaker, Conrad came to be regarded as one of the greatest novelists to write in the English language. He revolutionized the English novel with books such as The Secret Agent, Nostromo, and Typhoon. Before publishing his first novel, Almayer's Folly, in 1895, Joseph Conrad spent almost 20 years working mostly at sea as a merchant sailor.

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