Heart of Darkness and the Secret Sharer by Joseph Conrad
In this pair of literary voyages into the inner self, Joseph Conrad has written two of the most chilling, disturbing, and noteworthy pieces of fiction of the twentieth century. Heart of Darkness is a devastating commentary on the corruptibility of humanity. Based on Conrad's own 1890 trip up the Congo River, the story is told by Marlow, the novelist's alter ego. It is a journey into darkness and horror--both literally, as the narrator descends into a sinister jungle landscape, and metaphorically, as he encounters the morally depraved Mr. Kurtz. The Secret Sharer is the tale of a young sea captain's first command as he sails into the Gulf of Siam--and into an encounter with his mysterious double, the shadow self of the unconscious mind. Joseph Conrad boldly experimented with the novella and novel forms, filled his writing with the exotic places he himself had traveled, and concerned himself with honor, guilt, moral alienation, and sin. Heart of Darkness and The Secret Sharer encapsulate his literary achievements--and his haunting portrayal of the dark side of man. With an Introduction by Joyce Carol Oatesand an Afterword by Vince Passaro
Joseph Conrad, christened Josef Teodor Konrad, Nalecz Korzeniowski, was born on December 3, 1857, in a part of Russia that had once belonged to Poland. His parents were members of the landed gentry, but as ardent Polish patriots, the suffered considerably for their political views. Orphaned at eleven, Conrad attended school for a few years in Cracow, He soon concluded, however, that there was no future for a Pole in occupied Poland, and at sixteen he left his ancestral home forever. The sea was Conrad's love and career for the next twenty years. In the French merchant marine, he sailed to the West. Indies, smuggled guns to Spanish rebels, ran into debt, and bungled a suicide attempt Then in the British merchant navy, he rose to first mate and finally to captain, sailing to Australia and Borneo and surviving at least one shipwreck. In 1890 he contracted to become captain of a Congo River steamer, but the six months he spent in Africa led only to disillusionment and ill health; this episode would become the basis for Conrad's masterpiece, Heart of Darkness. Reluctantly leaving the merchant service, he settled in England and completed his first novel, Almayer's Folly, already begun at sea. Hi subsequent works, many of which drew upon his sea experiences, include The Nigger of the Narcissus (1897), Lord Jim (1900), Heart of Darkness (1902), Youth (1902) Typhoon (1903), Nastromo (1904), The Secret Agent (1907), The Secret Sharer (1910), Under the Western Eyes (1911), and Chance (1913). The man who was twenty-one years old before he spoke a word of English is now regarded as one of the superb English stylists of all time. Conrad died almost literally on his desk in 1924, at the age of sixty-six.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780743487658 |
| ISBN 10 | 0743487656 |
| Title | Heart of Darkness and the Secret Sharer |
| Author | Joseph Conrad |
| Series | Enriched Classics |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | Washington Square Press Inc.,N.Y. |
| Year published | 2004-05-01 |
| Number of pages | 240 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |