CONRAD, Joseph

 “It's only those who do nothing that make no mistakes, I suppose.”

Originally named Jozef Teodor Konrad Korseniowski, Polish born Joseph Conrad joined the French merchant marines when he was just 17 and his adventures sailing to the West Indies gave him much of the material for his later work. In 1878, to avoid conscription into the French armed services he signed up as a deckhand on a British freighter, where he learned to speak fluent English, and spent the next 20 years travelling the world, taking time in 1886 to obtain his British citizenship.  His progression through the ranks of the British merchant navy led to him commanding a Congo River steamboat for a few months in 1889, an experience which directly influenced his well-known short novel Heart of Darkness, published in book form in 1902.  Conrad’s life can be seen in two distinct parts: his early life was spent almost entirely at sea, where he accumulated a vast experience in maritime adventuring, which he was able to translate into the exciting prose which dominated the second part of his life.  Ironically, having found the bedrock of his story telling, once he started writing professionally, he never went back to sea again.  His interests transcended mere narrative however, as he was equally fascinated by the frailty of man and his moral choices, and his position in an uncaring and immutable world. 

Between 1895 and 1911 he produced an astonishing output of literature, the quality of which has installed him as one of the literary giants of the 20^th century.

Conrad's first novel, Almayer's Folly was published in 1895 and begins the seafaring theme, which would occupy much of his early output. In 1900 one of his best-regarded novels Lord Jim was published.

1907 saw a change in literary tack, with appearance of a tale of espionage and terrorism, The Secret Agent. Political cynicism is evident in another of Conrad's major works, Under Western Eyes (1911).

Please scroll down to see our current holdings of Conrad first editions.