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Introduction

Joseph Conrad

Although Joseph Conrad is considered one of the best English novelists (not to mention one of the most famous), he did not actually learn to speak English until he was 21. Conrad was born in Poland and orphaned at the age of 11. He joined the French merchant navy at 16 and spent much of his early years on the high seas. At many points in his life, he became involved in illegal activities (such as gunrunning) and was often embroiled in political intrigue. His many adventures led him to write novels such as Lord Jim, Nostromo, and his most celebrated book, Heart of Darkness. In almost all of his work, he explored loneliness, despair, and self-loathing—themes that ran through much of his own life.

Essential Facts

1. The Francis Ford Coppola film Apocalypse Now was inspired by and loosely based on Conrad’s Heart of Darkness.
2. In 1923, Conrad was offered a British knighthood, but he declined it.
3. Despite being an atheist throughout most of his life, he accepted last rites and was buried as a Roman Catholic.
4. Although he spent most of his life in England and was fluent in English, Conrad always spoke with a heavy accent.
5. In a 1975 essay, Chinua Achebe called Conrad a “thoroughgoing racist,” mostly due to his depiction of black Africans in Heart of Darkness. Since then, there has been an ongoing debate as to whether Conrad was racist or whether twentieth-century scholars have ignored the historical context of his work.