Heart of Darkness ‘As Powerful a Condemnation of Imperialism as Has Ever Been Written’

Published in 1902, Heart of Darkness is a well-known novella by Polish writer Joseph Conrad. Before its publication, it was featured in a three-part series in Blackwood’s Magazine in 1899. The story features Charles Marlow, who accepts an assignment from a Belgian trading company to captain a riverboat in Africa transporting ivory. The book explores three levels of darkness – wilderness, slavery, humanity – through the eyes of this unsuspecting trader. Heart of Darkness is a symbolic frame narrative, and one of the best-loved novels of the Victorian era. Literary students and history lovers alike will adore this classic piece of literature. JOSEPH CONRAD (1857-1924) was a Polish author who wrote in English. Conrad was born in what is now Berdychiv, Ukraine, to a Polish noble family. After his parents’ deaths in 1869, Conrad was placed in the care of his uncle, who let him become a seaman at 16. During this period of his life, Conrad experienced harrowing adventures that formed the basis for many of his books. After abandoning sea life at 36 and settling down in England, Conrad authored 19 novels and several short stories and essays. His most well-known works include Heart of Darkness, Nostromo, Victory, Almayer’s Folly, and Lord Jim.