When Charles Marlow travels to Africa to serve as steamboat pilot for an ivory-trading company, he learns he is to rendezvous with Kurtz, a trading-post agent held in high regard. But the deeper Marlow penetrates into the jungle, the grimmer the assessments of Kurtz become. Described by Conrad himself as “something quite on another plane than an anecdote of a man who went mad in the Centre of Africa,� Heart of Darkness has long been regarded as a powerful appraisal of the fragility of civilization and the consequences of imperialism. This collection includes another five of Conrad’s incomparable tales of adventure, including “The Secret Sharer,� “Youth,� and “Typhoon.�  

A haunting Modernist masterpiece and the inspiration for Francis Ford Coppola's Oscar-winning film Apocalypse Now, Heart of Darkness explores the limits of human experience and the nightmarish realities of imperialism. Conrad's narrator Marlow, a seaman and wanderer, recounts his physical and psychological journey in search of the infamous ivory trader Kurtz: dying, insane, and guilty of unspeakable atrocities. Travelling upriver to the heart of the African continent, he gradually becomes obsessed by this enigmatic, wraith-like figure. Marlow's discovery of how Kurtz has gained his position of power over the local people involves him in a radical questioning, not only of his own nature and values, but also those of western civilisation. Part of a major series of new editions of Conrad's most famous works in Penguin Classics, this volume contains Conrad's Congo Diary, a chronology, further reading, notes, a map of the Congo, a glossary and an introduction discussing the author's experiences in Africa, the narrative and symbolic complexities of Heart of Darkness and critical responses to the novel. Edited with an introduction by Owen Knowles 'Seems to reach into the heart of Conrad himself' Peter Ackroyd

HarperCollins is proud to present its range of best-loved, essential classics. 'The reaches opened before us and closed behind, as if the forest had stepped leisurely across the water to bar the way for our return. We penetrated deeper and deeper into the heart of darkness.' At the peak of European Imperialism, steamboat captain Charles Marlow travels deep into the African Congo on his way to relieve the elusive Mr Kurtz, an ivory trader renowned for his fearsome reputation. On his journey into the unknown Marlow takes a terrifying trip into his own subconscious, overwhelmed by his menacing, perilous and horrifying surroundings. The landscape and the people he meets force him to reflect on human nature and society, and in turn Conrad writes revealingly about the dangers of imperialism.

Conrad's superlative framed narrative is one of the most significant works of 20th century literature Truly a modern classic, this famed account by the seaman Marlow of his search for the elusive Kurtz, into the heart of the African continent, raises questions about the nature of civilization and the very soul of humanity. The book's influence has stretched beyond the realm of literature so that its most famous phrase--Kurtz's dying "The horror, the horror," has entered the language, and Francis Ford Coppola reinterpreted and reset the novel in his hugely successful 1979 film" Apocalypse Now."

A haunting critique of European colonialism in Africa, Heart of Darkness recounts Charles Marlow's perilous expedition up the Congo River in search of Mr. Kurtz, the powerful and enigmatic commander of a Belgian ivory trading post. As Marlow draws closer to and finally reaches the target of his obsession, admiration turns to horror at the colonizers' atrocities laid bare before him. Its famously cryptic narrative structure, richly layered with symbolic undertones, evokes a hazy, menacing atmosphere that has sparked countless reinterpretations and adaptations to this day.

HarperCollins is proud to present its range of best-loved, essential classics. 'The reaches opened before us and closed behind, as if the forest had stepped leisurely across the water to bar the way for our return. We penetrated deeper and deeper into the heart of darkness.' When Charles Marlow agrees to captain a steamer up the Congo in search of the elusive ivory trader Mr Kurtz, it becomes a terrifying journey into both the unknown and his own subconscious. As he travels deeper and deeper into the dense jungle, he begins to sense the presence of this extraordinary and terrible man, and to question the horrifying realities of European imperialism and of human nature itself. Originally published as a three-part story in 1899, Conrad's masterpiece has inspired many further works, including Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now, and remains a thought-provoking text to this day.

The five stories brought together in Tales of Unrest (1898) mark a turning point in the writer's career. Conrad's first short story collection evidences a writer firmly in control of his new craft staking a claim to diverse cultural and fictional territories. The introduction situates the writing of these stories in Conrad's career and discusses their sources and contemporary reception. The explanatory notes identify literary and historical references and real-life places, and indicate influences. Two maps and six illustrations enrich the explanatory matter. The essay on the text lays out the history of the work's composition and publication, details interventions by Conrad's typists, compositors and editors, and explains editorial policy. This edition, established through modern textual scholarship, presents Conrad's stories and his preface to the collection in forms more authoritative than any so far printed.

Exam board: Edexcel Level & Subject: AS and A Level English Literature First teaching: September 2015 First examination: June 2017

Acclaimed illustrator Peter Kuper delivers a visually immersive and profound adaptation of Joseph Conrad's controversial classic that "doesn't just retell the book [but] destabilizes it, forcing a reconsideration" (Etelka Lechoczy, NPR). Longtime admirers of the novella will appreciate his innovative interpretations, while new readers will discover a brilliant introduction to a canonical work of twentieth-century literature.

This edition includes a newly edited text based on the 1902 edition. Textual History and Editing Principles provides an overview of the controversies and ambiguities surrounding Heart of Darkness. Included are background and source materials, and contemporary responses to the novella along with essays in criticism, including a new section on film adaptations.

Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness has unsettled generations of readers with its haunting portrait of colonialism and the brutal exploitation of African lives. Peter Kuper's graphic adaptation reimagines this masterpiece for a new generation. Illustrated to evoke early twentieth-century woodcuts, Kuper's Heart of Darkness confronts Conrad's famously ambiguous, labyrinthine sentences and invents in stark black and white panels a visual language that excavates the hidden corners of Conrad's 1899 masterpiece. Capturing the ominous atmosphere and hellish conditions of the Belgian Congo, Kuper transforms this lurid tale of madness, greed and evil into something shockingly modern. Long-time admirers of the novel will see Conrad's opus with new eyes while new readers will discover a brilliant introduction to a classic work.

The most supportive, easy-to-use and focussed literature guides to help your students understand the texts they are studying at GCSE and A Level

Joseph Conrad's Nostromo (1904) is widely considered his modernist masterpiece. The first of his major political novels, it depicts the effects of repeated revolution in a fictional South American state under the growing influence of the United States of America. It is an enduring portrait of global economics and politics during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This first comprehensive and authoritative critical edition offers an introduction clarifying the novel's origins and sources, while explanatory notes detail literary and historical references. An accompanying essay lays out the history of composition and publication, detailing interventions made by Conrad's editors. Also included are appendices of Conrad's source material; glossaries of nautical and foreign terms; a map; and reproductions of early drafts. By returning to (and respecting) Conrad's own early manuscript and typescript forms, this edition presents the novel and its preface in a form more authoritative than any so far.

When an essay is due and dreaded exams loom, here's the lit-crit help students need to succeed! SparkNotes Literature Guides make studying smarter, better, and faster. They provide chapter-by-chapter analysis, explanations of key themes, motifs and symbols, a review quiz and essay topics. Lively and accessible, SparkNotes is perfect for late-night studying and paper writing.

Introducing Little Clothbound Classics: irresistible, mini editions of short stories, novellas and essays from the world's greatest writers, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith. Celebrating the range and diversity of Penguin Classics, they take us from snowy Japan to springtime Vienna, from haunted New England to a sun-drenched Mediterranean island, and from a game of chess on the ocean to a love story on the moon. Beautifully designed and printed, these collectible editions are bound in colourful, tactile cloth and stamped with foil. On sea, on land, at the edges of the colonial experience, Joseph Conrad's short stories offer a glimpse of the violence, the kindness, and the mystery at humanity's heart. 'The Lagoon' tells of love and its shadow, 'The Typhoon' of the gap between man and nature, while 'The Secret Sharer' provides a brilliant exploration of truth and trust.

Part of Alma Classics Evergreen series, this edition is published here with the complete Congo Diaries. On a boat in the Thames estuary, Marlow tells his travelling companions of his reconnaissance expedition for a Belgian trading company to its most remote outpost in central Africa, which brought him on the trail of the elusive Kurtz, a brilliant idealist gone rogue. His account relates not only the perils he encounters on his quest, but also the deterioration of his state of mind as he is confronted with a world that is hostile and alien to him.

ABOUT THE SERIES: Alma Evergreens is a series of popular classics. All the titles in the series are provided with an extensive critical apparatus, extra reading material including a section of photographs and notes. The texts are based on the most authoritative edition (or collated from the most authoritative editions or manuscripts) and edited using a fresh, intelligent editorial approach. With an emphasis on the production, editorial and typographical values of a book, Alma Classics aspires to revitalize the whole experience of reading the classics.