Showing results by author "Joseph Conrad" in All Categories

A Signature Performance: Kenneth Branagh plays this like a campfire ghost story, told by a haunted, slightly insane Marlow.

The story tells of Jim, a young, good-looking, genial, and naive water-clerk on the Patna, a cargo ship plying Asian waters. One night, when the ship collides with an obstacle and begins to sink, acting on impulse, Jim jumps overboard and lands in a lifeboat, which happens to be bearing the unscrupulous captain and his cohorts away from the disaster.

Exclusively from Audible. The Secret Agent is based on an actual attempt made in 1894 to blow up the Greenwich Observatory. A labyrinth of greed, corruption, and betrayal, it is the most darkly humorous of all Conrad's tales. It follows a European secret agent, Adolf Verloc, 'a London shop owner' with anarchist leanings who becomes reluctantly involved in a plot to blow up the Greenwich Observatory. Full of great characters, melodramatic irony and psychological intrigue the tale is far from simple....

Typhoon is the story of a steamship and her crew beset by a tempest and of the captain whose dogged courage is tested to the limit. Captain MacWhirr was an ordinary man. However, when his steamer Nan-Shan blunders into a hurricane, he and his crew must pull together to survive. The steadfast courage of an undemonstrative captain and the imaginative readiness of his young first mate becomes a partnership vital to human survival as they are challenged from without by the elements, and from within by human doubts and fears.

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad is performed by professional narrator and actress Anna Butterworth, in an easy-to-listen-to and understandable style that brings one of the most famous classic English literature novellas to life. It is stil studied in many schools today and even inspired the classic film by Francis Ford Coppola, Apocalypse Now.

The Shadow-Line, a poignant tribute to Joseph Conrads son who was wounded in World War I, is a captivating short novel set against the backdrop of the sea. Written between February and December of 1915 and first published in 1916, this novella explores the transformative journey of a young man who steps into the role of captain in the Orient. The titles shadow line symbolizes the pivotal moment of his growth and maturity. With its unique dual narrative structure, the full title—The Shadow-Line, A Confession—hints at the reflective nature of the story. The tension between the unnamed young ...

In this gripping seafaring novella, the crew aboard ships confronts the relentless forces of nature. As they navigate treacherous waters, the narrative unfolds into a profound exploration of human resilience, emotional turmoil, and the far-reaching consequences on social and spiritual existence. - Summary by Anthony Ogus

In this captivating prequel to Almayers Folly, Joseph Conrad delves into the roots of the factional tensions that shape the social dynamics of Sambir, a small settlement on the Pantai River in Borneo. The story revolves around Captain Tom Lingard, a swashbuckling yet somewhat naive freebooter who has long involved himself in the political intrigues of the Malacca Straits, driven by a mix of opportunism and altruism. Lingard has previously appointed Kaspar Almayer as his protégé at a remote trading post in Sambir. When he learns that another former protégé, Peter Willems, is on the verge of...

Step into a world shaped by history and imagination in Tales of Hearsay. Join a reflective and romantic young Russian officer during the era of Napoleon as he faces a daunting request. Travel to 1868, where an adventurous Polish boy meets a prince and discovers that reality often defies fantasy. Experience the tension aboard a British ship in the North Sea during the Great War as the captain confronts a neutral vessel whose leader may not be as innocent as he claims. Finally, dive into the troubled life of a sailing ship officer in the 1880s, trapped under the oppressive rule of a captain ...

In this captivating collection, a brave Malay chieftain confronts an unexpected vulnerability, while a farmers wife, haunted by her past, vows to bear no more children. A novice ivory trader experiences a profound moment of self-discovery with just a spoonful of sugar. Meanwhile, a pompous man is rocked by the revelation that his wife has eloped with another. Deep within a secluded and eerie lagoon, a Malay harbors a troubling secret. Tales of Unrest marks Joseph Conrads first volume of short fiction published during his lifetime, weaving together narratives that echo the landscapes of his ...

Inspired by the tragic accidental death of an anarchist in 1894 outside the Royal Observatory in Greenwich Park, London, Conrad weaves a gripping narrative centered around Adolf Verloc, a lazy and duplicitous secret agent working for a foreign government. Under immense pressure, he is compelled to carry out an act of shocking senselessness against the very essence of astronomy. As the story unfolds, it darkly yet humorously explores the hidden motives of Londons anarchists, revolutionaries, police, and government officials. In a world where appearances are deceiving, nearly every ...

As Captain Whalley approaches what should be a restful retirement, he finds himself ensnared by unexpected circumstances and his unwavering sense of duty. A seasoned sailor and a pioneer of eastern maritime trade, he reluctantly takes on a challenging three-year contract to captain a tramp steamer. The owner? None other than the vessels engineer, a mean-spirited and gambling-addicted character. Yet, this tumultuous arrangement is just the beginning of Captain Whalleys trials on the high seas. (Summary by Peter Dann)

Dark allegory describes Marlow's journey up the Congo River and his meeting with and fascination by Mr. Kurtz, a mysterious personage who dominates the unruly inhabitants of the region. A masterly blend of adventure, character development and psychological penetration. Considered by many to be Conrad's finest, most enigmatic story.

From his many years on the high seas as a mariner, mate, and captain, Joseph Conrad created unique works, including Heart of Darkness, that have left an indelible mark on world literature. First published in 1899, his haunting novel Lord Jim is both a riveting sea adventure and a fascinating portrait of a unique outcast from civilization.

Life has the capacity of great moments and attainment, of lives well lived, fulfilling for ourselves and for those we touch. But for others life is arduous. There is no spark to ignite the curiosity, to explore and achieve a stability and a growth to their lives. Indeed their lives, in their own eyes, become almost meaningless, their sense of themselves subsumed under a myriad of problems, whether real or imagined. Seismic events in a life might crush them; the loss of a loved one for instance. Coping is difficult, support hard to find and isolation abounds.

Seven legendary unproduced screenplays, resurrected and reinvented for BBC Radio 4 The annals of movie history are full of lost treasures – spectacular scripts from world-renowned writers that could have been classics, had they only been made. Now, for the first time, some of these forgotten...

Long hailed as one of the greatest novels of the 20th century, Joseph Conrad's tale of one man's descent into the mysterious and deadly Congo jungle to find a messianic ivory trader is a journey into the depths of man's own greed and quest for power. Marlow, our narrator, relates his story of his slow upriver quest to meet the strange and enigmatic Kurtz, who lives isolated in the jungle and is revered by the natives he exploits.

Polish-born author and mariner Joseph Conrad is widely regarded as one of the greatest English novelists. His 16 years in the merchant navy profoundly shaped his fiction, giving him transformative experiences of adventure and exotic places, and a unique insight into the human psyche. Included here are adaptations of six of his best works, brought together for the first time and collected in chronological order, plus one fascinating bonus programmes exploring his life and art.

A gripping tale of espionage that influenced Graham Greene, Somerset Maugham and John le Carré, Under Western Eyes follows the story of Kyrilo Sidorovitch Razumov, an apolitical student who becomes a Czarist spy. Following a political assassination, he returns to his room to discover the culprit, Victor Haldin, who asks for help in making his escape.

Set in the fictional South American country of Costaguana, Nostromo explores the volatile politics and crippling greed surrounding the San Tomé silver mine. The story of power, love, revolutions, loyalty and reward is told with richly evocative description and brilliantly realised characters. But Nostromo is more than an adventure story; it is also a profoundly dark moral fable. Its language is as compellingly resonant as the sea itself; the characters absorbing and complex.