Notes on Life and Letters

Joseph Conrad (1857 - 1924) was a Polish-British writer regarded as one of the greatest novelists to write in the English language. He joined the British merchant marine in 1878, and was granted British citizenship in 1886. Though he did not speak English fluently until his twenties, he was a master prose stylist who brought a non-English sensibility into English literature. He wrote stories and novels, many with a nautical setting, that depict trials of the human spirit in the midst of an impassive, inscrutable universe. Conrad is considered an early modernist, though his works still contain elements of 19th-century realism. His narrative style and anti-heroic characters have influenced numerous authors and many films have been adapted from, or inspired by, his works. Writing in the heyday of the British Empire, Conrad drew on his native Poland's national experiences and his own experiences in the French and British merchant navies, to create short stories and novels that reflect aspects of a European-dominated world-including imperialism and colonialism-and that profoundly explore the human psyche.

Preface; Acknowledgements; Chronology; Abbreviations; Introduction; Notes on Life and Letters: Author's note; Part 1. Letters; Part 2. Life; The texts; Apparatus; Appendices; Notes.

"This volume--with its thoughtful and thorough essays, Notes, and Apparatus--constitutes an excellent casebook on the making of critical editions. More importantly, of course, it is a major contribution to Conrad scholarship and will undoubtedly become the authoritative foundation for further research and writing on this richly varied collection of the author's journalistic writings." - Wallace Watson, Duquesne University

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Twenty-six essays offering a kaleidoscopic view of Conrad's literary views and interest in the events of his day.