Youth

Conrad was a Polish-born English novelist. His success is even more amazing since he did not learn to speak English until he was in his 20's. Conrad's narrative style places him at the beginning of the Modernist period of literature. Past adventures of the sea bind five men together as this story unfolds.

Most readers know Joseph Conrad for creating Marlow's harrowing journey through the African Congo in Heart of Darkness. Conrad was adept at capturing the physical and cultural experiences he gleaned from 15 years at sea, but he also wrote political thrillers, essays, and plays based on his own short stories. His best works tend to be brief, but pack in a remarkable perspicacity about humanity's deepest faults.