Other editions of book Heart of Darkness and The Secret Sharer

Aboard the Nellie, anchored in the River Thames near Gravesend, England, Charles Marlow tells his fellow sailors about the events that led to his appointment as captain of a river steamboat for an ivory trading company. As a child, Marlow had been fascinated by "the blank spaces" on maps, particularly by the biggest, which by the time he had grown up was no longer blank but turned into "a place of darkness". Yet there remained a big river, "resembling an immense snake uncoiled, with its head in the sea, its body at rest curving afar over a vast country and its tail lost in the depths of the land". The image of this river on the map fascinated Marlow "as a snake would a bird". Feeling as though "instead of going to the centre of a continent I were about to set off for the centre of the earth", Marlow takes passage on a French steamer bound for the African coast and then into the interior. Joseph Conrad was a Polish-British writer regarded as one of the greatest novelists to write in the English language.

ENDURING LITERATURE ILLUMINATEDBY PRACTICAL SCHOLARSHIPTwo of Joseph Conrad's most compelling and haunting works, in which the deepest perceptions and desires of the human heart and mind are explored.EACH ENRICHED CLASSIC EDITION INCLUDES:• A concise introduction that gives readers important background information• A chronology of the author's life and work• A timeline of significant events that provides the book's historical context• An outline of key themes and plot points to help readers form their own interpretations• Detailed explanatory notes• Critical analysis, including contemporary and modern perspectives on the work• Discussion questions to promote lively classroom and book group interaction• A list of recommended related books and films to broaden the reader's experienceEnriched Classics offer readers affordable editions of great works of literature enhanced by helpful notes and insightful commentary. The scholarship provided in Enriched Classics enables readers to appreciate, understand, and enjoy the world's finest books to their full potential.SERIES EDITED BY CYNTHIA BRANTLEY JOHNSON