Heart of Darkness: Joseph Conrad

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.