Selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best novels of all time
Introduction by Caryl Phillips Commentary by H. L. Mencken, E. M. Forster, Virginia Woolf, Ernest Hemingway, Bertrand Russell, Lionel Trilling, Chinua Achebe, and Philip Gourevitch
Originally published in 1902, Heart of Darkness remains one of this century’s most enduring works of fiction. Written several years after Joseph Conrad’s grueling sojourn in the Belgian Congo, the novel is a complex meditation on colonialism, evil, and the thin line between civilization and barbarity. This edition contains selections from Conrad’s Congo Diary of 1890—the first notes, in effect, for the novel, which was composed at the end of that decade. Virginia Woolf wrote of Conrad: “His books are full of moments of vision. They light up a whole character in a flash. . . . He could not write badly, one feels, to save his life.”
About Heart of Darkness
In a novella which remains highly controversial to this day, Conrad explores the relations between Africa and Europe. On the surface, this is a horrifying tale of colonial exploitation. The narrator, Marlowe journeys on business deep into the heart of Africa. But there he encounters Kurtz, an idealist apparently crazed and depraved by his power over the natives, and the meeting prompts Marlowe to reflect on the darkness at the heart of all men. This short but complex and often ambiguous story, which has been the basis of several films and plays, continues to provoke interpretation and discussion.
Heart of Darkness grew out of a journey Joseph Conrad took up the Congo River; the verisimilitude that the great novelist thereby brought to his most famous tale everywhere enhances its dense and shattering power.
Apparently a sailor’s yarn, it is in fact a grim parody of the adventure story, in which the narrator, Marlow, travels deep into the heart of the Congo where he encounters the crazed idealist Kurtz and discovers that the relative values of the civilized and the primitive are not what they seem. Heart of Darkness is a model of economic storytelling, an indictment of the inner and outer turmoil caused by the European imperial misadventure, and a piercing account of the fragility of the human soul.
(Book Jacket Status: Jacketed)
About Heart of Darkness
Widely regarded as one of the greatest English novels, Heart of Darkness follows Charles Marlow on his journey down the Congo River and into the heart of Africa.
The book moves fluidly between poignant psychological introspection and insidious horror as Marlow moves through an alien landscape. It has been the subject of considerable analysis and criticism for its treatment of British imperialism, particular with regards to colonialism and racism. It was the basis of the Vietnam war film Apocalypse Now, directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, and Robert Duvall.
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About Heart of Darkness
‘Heart of Darkness,’ which appeared at the very beginning of our century, ‘was a Cassandra cry announcing the end of Victorian Europe, on the verge of transforming itself into the Europe of violence,’ wrote the critic Czeslaw Milosz.
Originally published in 1902, Heart of Darkness remains one of this century’s most enduring–and harrowing–works of fiction. Written several years after Conrad’s grueling sojourn in the Belgian Congo, the novel tells the story of Marlow, a seaman who undertakes his own journey into the African jungle to find the tormented white trader Kurtz. Rich in irony and spellbinding prose, Heart of Darkness is a complex meditation on colonialism, evil, and the thin line between civilization and barbarity. This edition contains selections from Conrad’s Congo Diary of 1890–the first notes, in effect, for the novel which was composed at the end of that decade.
Virginia Woolf wrote of Conrad, ‘His books are full of moments of vision. They light up a whole character in a flash. . . . He could not write badly, one feels, to save his life.’
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… More about Joseph Conrad
About Joseph Conrad
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… More about Joseph Conrad
About Joseph Conrad
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… More about Joseph Conrad
About Joseph Conrad
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… More about Joseph Conrad
Product Details
Paperback | $11.00
Published by Modern Library Aug 10, 1999| 176 Pages| 5-3/16 x 8| ISBN 9780375753770
Hardcover | $19.00
Published by Everyman’s Library Oct 26, 1993| 144 Pages| 5 x 8| ISBN 9780679428015
Ebook | $1.99
Published by New Canadian Library Aug 12, 2014| 94 Pages| ISBN 9781551997469
Ebook | $2.99
Published by Modern Library Oct 31, 2000| 176 Pages| ISBN 9780679641247
