Joseph Conrad (1857–1924,) born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski, was a Polish-born British novelist. Conrad drew upon his own experiences at sea to write many novels that explored the vulnerability and corruptibility of human nature. He was a central figure in the development of literary modernism.
Born in the Polish town of Berdychiv (then under Russian rule, but now situated in Ukraine,) Conrad was the son of revolutionaries who were sent into political exile. Orphaned at age 11, Conrad was driven by a desire to see the world and went to sea at age 15.
After 20 years at sea, Conrad settled in England, anglicized his name, and began writing fiction based on his significant experiences at sea. He became a British citizen in 1886. Even if he never spoke English fluently, he wrote in it.
Conrad’s notable works include Lord Jim (1900,) Heart of Darkness (1902,) Nostromo (1904,) and The Secret Agent (1907.) His books sold poorly, and his life as a novelist was a struggle of ill health and unsteady finances. His career changed with the publication of Chance (1914) and Victory (1915,) two novels that brought him extensive popular success and widespread recognition as one of England’s leading fiction writers.
Heart of Darkness gained a new audience through Francis Ford Coppola’s classic war film Apocalypse Now (1979.) Heart of Darkness is based on Conrad’s firsthand exposure to European colonial exploitation during an 1890 riverboat voyage up the Congo River.
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It is respectable to have no illusions, and safe, and profitable and dull.
—Joseph Conrad
Any work that aspires, however humbly, to the condition of art should carry its justification in every line.
—Joseph Conrad
Topics: Art, Artists
What all men are really after is some form, or perhaps only some formula, of peace.
—Joseph Conrad
Topics: Peace, Motivation, Positive Attitudes, Optimism, Aspirations, Man, Relaxation
An artist is a man of action, whether he creates a personality, invents an expedient, or finds the issue of a complicated situation.
—Joseph Conrad
Topics: Art, Artists
The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are quite capable of every wickedness.
—Joseph Conrad
Topics: Evil
Being a woman is a terribly difficult trade since it consists principally of dealings with men.
—Joseph Conrad
Topics: Women
All ambitions are lawful except those which climb upward on the miseries or credulities of mankind.
—Joseph Conrad
Topics: Ambition
History repeats itself, but the special call of an art which has passed away is never reproduced. It is as utterly gone out of the world as the song of a destroyed wild bird.
—Joseph Conrad
Topics: Talent