Joseph Conrad (1804-1864), is generally regarded as one of the greatest writers of fiction in English.

Four Joseph Conrad novels--Secret Agent, Nostromo, Heart of Darkness, and Lord Jim ranked highly on a list of the Top English Novels of the Century drawn up by the editorial board of Modern Library.

He once described himself as being concerned `with the ideal value of things, events and people'.

In Conrad’s eyes the world is a place of unrelenting conflict; the forces of darkness and dissolution constantly clash with those of brotherhood, responsibility, and valor. He divides all mankind into two types: The visionaries and the cynical realists, implying that a man is already dead if he has lost his ideals and visions.

From first to last Conrad’s concerns take account of moral dilemmas, the isolation of the individual, and the psychology of inner urges in both individuals and groups.

Conrad finds inherent in man’s inhumanity to man the question of man’s essential nature: Is he basically good or basically evil? His explorations into these themes have gifted us with unquestioned classics of the first order.

Conrad’s major works include:
Heart of Darkness (1902)
Nostromo (1904)
Lord Jim (1907)
The Secret Agent (1907)
The Secret Sharer (1912)