Joseph Conrad is one of the most intriguing and important modernist novelists. His writing continues to preoccupy twenty-first-century readers. This introduction by a leading scholar is aimed at students coming to Conrad's work for the first time. The rise of postcolonial studies has inspired interest in Conrad's themes of travel, exploration, and racial and ethnic conflict. John Peters explains how these themes are explored in his major works, Nostromo, Lord Jim and Heart of Darkness, as well as his short stories. He provides an essential overview of Conrad's fascinating life and career and his approach to writing and literature. A guide to further reading is included which points to some of the most useful secondary criticism on Conrad. This is a most comprehensive and concise introduction to studying Conrad, and will be essential reading for students of the twentieth-century novel and of modernism.

The Cambridge Companion to Joseph Conrad offers a wide-ranging introduction to the fiction of Joseph Conrad, one of the most influential novelists of the twentieth century. Through a series of essays by leading Conrad scholars aimed at both students and the general reader, the volume stimulates an informed appreciation of Conrad's work based on an understanding of his cultural and historical situations and fictional techniques. A chronology and overview of Conrad's life precede chapters that explore significant issues in his major writings, and deal in depth with individual works. These are followed by discussions of the special nature of Conrad's narrative techniques, his complex relationships with late-Victorian imperialism and with literary Modernism, and his influence on other writers and artists. Each essay provides guidance to further reading, and a concluding chapter surveys the body of Conrad criticism.

The most comprehensive guide to Conrad's life, work, context and major themes.

This volume offers both students and scholars a comprehensive overview of the most recent developments in Conrad studies.

Leading scholars provide a comprehensive introduction to the work of Joseph Conrad.