Heart of Darkness: Color Illustrated, Formatted for E-readers

Publisher Marketing: Unabridged & Original version WITH ALL 170 PAGES Includes: 15 Illustrations and Biography Heart of Darkness (1899) is a novella[citation needed] by Polish novelist Joseph Conrad, about a voyage up the Congo River into the Congo Free State, in the heart of Africa, by the story's narrator Marlow. Marlow tells his story to friends aboard a boat anchored on the River Thames, London, England. This setting provides the frame for Marlow's story of his obsession with the ivory trader Kurtz, which enables Conrad to create a parallel between London and Africa as places of darkness. Central to Conrad's work is the idea that there is little difference between so-called civilized people and those described as savages; Heart of Darkness raises important questions about imperialism and racism. Originally published as a three-part serial story in Blackwood's Magazine, the novella Heart of Darkness has been variously published and translated into many languages. In 1998, the Modern Library ranked Heart of Darkness as the sixty-seventh of the hundred best novels in English of the twentieth century. Joseph Conrad acknowledged that Heart of Darkness was in part based on his own experiences during his travels in Africa. In 1890, at the age of 32, he was appointed by a Belgian trading company to serve as the captain of a steamer on the Congo River. Conrad, who was born in Poland and later settled in England, had eagerly anticipated the voyage, having decided to become a sailor at an early age. While sailing up the Congo river from one station to another, the captain became ill, Conrad assumed command of the boat and guided the ship to the trading company's innermost station. He reportedly became disillusioned with Imperialism, after witnessing the cruelty and corruption perpetrated by the European companies in the area. The novella's main narrator, Charles Marlow, is believed to have been based upon the author. Review Citations: Library Journal 04/15/2003 pg. 132 (EAN 9781843910084, Paperback) - *Starred Review Library Journal 04/01/2003 (EAN 9781843910084, Paperback) Wilson Fiction Catalog 01/01/1995 pg. 138 (EAN 9780679428015, Hardcover) Wilson Fiction Catalog 01/01/2000 pg. 135 (EAN 9780679428015, Hardcover) Wilson Fiction Catalog 01/01/2006 pg. 192 (EAN 9780679428015, Hardcover) Wilson Senior High Core Col 01/01/2007 pg. 737 (EAN 9780679428015, Hardcover) Wilson Fiction Catalog 01/01/2010 pg. 120 (EAN 9780679428015, Hardcover) Wilson Senior High Core Col 01/01/2011 pg. 907 (EAN 9780679428015, Hardcover) Wilson Fiction Catalog 01/01/2014 pg. 160 (EAN 9780679428015, Hardcover) Shelf Awareness 12/10/2013 (EAN 9781935639664, Hardcover) Contributor Bio:  Conrad, Joseph Polish author Joseph Conrad is considered to be one of the greatest English-language novelists, a remarkable achievement considering English was not his first language. Conrad s literary works often featured a nautical setting, reflecting the influences of his early career in the Merchant Navy, and his depictions of the struggles of the human spirit in a cold, indifferent world are best exemplified in such seminal works as Heart of Darkness, Lord JimM, The Secret Agent, Nostromo, and Typhoon. Regarded as a forerunner of modernist literature, Conrad s writing style and characters have influenced such distinguished writers as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, William S. Burroughs, Hunter S. Thompson, and George Orwell, among many others. Many of Conrad s novels have been adapted for film, most notably Heart of Darkness, which served as the inspiration and foundation for Francis Ford Coppola s 1979 film Apocalypse Now.