Victory

by Joseph Conrad

Overview

Once regarded as comparatively minor amongst Conrad's works, Victory has grown in reputation. Its depiction of the central character, Axel Heyst, and his renunciation of the world, is influenced by Conrad's reading of Schopenhauer.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781627937160
Publisher:	Start Classics
Publication date:	11/23/2013
Series:	Unabridged Start Classics
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	260
File size:	591 KB

About the Author

Joseph Conrad (1857-1924) was a Polish-British writer, regarded as one of the greatest novelists in the English language. Though he was not fluent in English until the age of twenty, Conrad mastered the language and was known for his exceptional command of stylistic prose. Inspiring a reoccurring nautical setting, Conrad’s literary work was heavily influenced by his experience as a ship’s apprentice. Conrad’s style and practice of creating anti-heroic protagonists is admired and often imitated by other authors and artists, immortalizing his innovation and genius.

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

Read an Excerpt

Set in the islands of the Malay Archipelago, Victory tells the story of a disillusioned Swede, Axel Heyst, who rescues Lena, a young English musician, from the clutches of a brutish German hotel owner. Seeking refuge at Heyst’s remote island retreat on Samburan, the couple is soon besieged by three villains dispatched by the enraged hotelier. The arrival on the island paradise of this trio of fiends sets off a terrifying series of events that ultimately ends in catastrophe.
“With Victory, Conrad inaugurated a new style and aesthetic,” writes Peter Lancelot Mallios in his Introduction. “The tremendous literary sophistication to be found in Victory does not result in the exclusion of the popular reader.”
The text of this Modern Library Paperback Classic was set from the first British edition, published by Methuen & Co. in 1915.

Author Biography: Peter Lancelot Mallios is an assistant professor of English and American Studies at the University of Maryland.

Editorial Reviews

I am glad that I am alive, if, for no other reason, because of the joy of reading this book.” —Jack London

From the Publisher

This is the latest of the classic works by Joseph Conrad ably narrated by David Horovitch. This 1915 work, relatively unknown, concerns a drifter named Axel Heyst who runs a coal company on a remote island in the Malay Archipelago and his relationship with an English girl. He saves her from her employer, and then she saves Heyst from himself. There is quite a bit of psychological drama in this work, and Horovitch's performance is a great match for the text. His English accent, resonant and deep timbre, and expressive intonation make this a remarkable listening experience. M.T.F. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine

MAY 2024 - AudioFile