Other editions of book Nostromo

Joseph Conrad's 1904 adventure novel, set amid the mist-covered mountains of a fictional South American republic, spins a colorful tale of capitalist exploitation and rebellion. The story begins halfway through the revolution, employing flashbacks and glimpses of the future to depict the lure of silver and its effects on men — corrupting and destroying some, revealing the strengths of others. Conrad's deep moral consciousness and masterful narrative technique are at their best in Nostromo, one of his greatest works.

Nostromo is a colorful and adventurous tale set in the fictional South American country of Costaguana. In the midst of a revolution, the citizens of Costaguana live under a brutal dictatorship of Ribiera, a ruthless leader kept in power through foreigners and their dark money. The oligarch government has become so corrupt that the citizens of Costaguana have had enough. In fear of losing his wealth, Charles Gould, the leader of a wealthy family, asks Nostromo for help in getting his vast silver fortune out of the city. Their plan goes awry, and Nostromo claims the fortune was lost at sea. Originally published in 1904, Nostromo is considered to be Joseph Conrad's finest work for its many classic themes, including honor, duty, and the eternal war between good and evil. Although published at the beginning of the 20th century, the theme of this novel closely aligns with what many nations face in the modern world.

[Read by John Lee]Brilliant both as literature and as social study, Nostromo ambitiously brings to life the political climate of an underdeveloped Latin American country as it tells of one nation's violent revolution and one hero's moral degeneration. -- Joseph Conrad's multilayered masterpiece tells of one nation's violent revolution and one hero's moral degeneration. Conrad convincingly invents an entire country, Costaguana, and sets it afire as warlords compete for power and a fortune in silver. -- Señor Gould, adamant that his silver should not become spoil for his enemies, entrusts it to his faithful longshoreman, Nostromo, a local hero of sorts whom Señor Gould believes to be incorruptible. Nostromo accepts the mission as an opportunity to increase his own fame. But when his exploit fails to win him the rewards he had hoped for, he is consumed by a corrupting resentment.

In his "Author’s Note" in this edition of Nostromo, Joseph Conrad provides a detailed explanation of the inspirational origins of his novel. There he relates how, as a young man of about seventeen, while serving aboard a ship in the Gulf of Mexico, he heard the story of a man who had stolen, single-handedly, "a whole lighter-full of silver". As Conrad goes on to relate, he forgot about the story until some twenty-five years later when he came across a travelogue in a used-book shop in which the author related how he worked for years aboard a schooner whose master claimed to be that very thief who had stolen the silver.

*This Book is annotated (it contains a detailed biography of the author). *An active Table of Contents has been added by the publisher for a better customer experience. *This book has been checked and corrected for spelling errors. Nostromo (full title Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard) is a 1904 novel by Polish-born English novelist Joseph Conrad, set in the fictitious South American republic of "Costaguana". It was originally published serially in two volumes of T.P.'s Weekly.In 1998, the Modern Library ranked Nostromo 47th on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century. F. Scott Fitzgerald said, "I'd rather have written Nostromo than any other novel."Nostromo is set in the South American country of Costaguana, and more specifically in that country's Occidental Province and its port city of Sulaco. Though Costaguana is a fictional nation, its geography as described in the book resembles real-life Colombia. Costaguana has a long history of tyranny, revolution and warfare, but has recently experienced a period of stability under the dictator Ribiera.

Joseph Conrad’s foresight and his ability to distill human adventure from complex historical circumstances were so keen that his greatest novel, Nostromo—though more than a century old—says as much about Latin America as any recent account of that region’s turbulent political life. Conrad’s story is set in the fictional Costaguana, a South American republic with a troubled history of tyranny and revolution. When wealthy businessman Charles Gould decides to use his valuable silver mine to support the current dictator in hopes of achieving stability, he instead sets off a new round of chaos and warfare. Fearful that his silver will fall into the hands of invading revolutionaries, Gould entrusts Nostromo—a man of the people considered by all to be incorruptible—with the task of escaping with and hiding a boatload of ingots from the mine. Nostromo’s heroic actions save his city from revolution, but the fate of the silver becomes his dark secret, one that will destroy him. Insistently dramatic in its storytelling, spectacular in its re-creation of the subtropical landscape, this picture of an insurrectionary society and the opportunities it provides for moral corruption gleams on every page with its author’s impeccable intelligence.(Book Jacket Status: Not Jacketed).

This eBook edition of "NOSTROMO: A TALE OF THE SEABOARD" has been formatted to the highest digital standards and adjusted for readability on all devices.Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard is a 1904 novel, set in the fictitious South American republic of "Costaguana". Conrad set his novel in the mining town of Sulaco. The book has more fully developed characters than any other of his novels, but two characters dominate the narrative: Señor Gould and the eponymous anti-hero, the "incorruptible" Nostromo. In his "Author's Note" Conrad relates how, as a young man of about seventeen, while serving aboard a ship in the Gulf of Mexico, he heard the story of a man who had stolen, single-handedly, "a whole lighter-full of silver". But Conrad forgot about the story until some twenty-five years later when he came across a travelogue in a used bookshop in which the author related how he worked for years aboard a schooner whose master claimed to be that very thief who had stolen the silver. F. Scott Fitzgerald said, "I'd rather have written Nostromo than any other novel."Joseph Conrad (1857-1924), was a Polish author who wrote in English after settling in England. Conrad is regarded as one of the greatest novelists in English, though he did not speak the language fluently until he was in his twenties. He wrote stories and novels, often with a nautical setting, that depict trials of the human spirit in the midst of an indifferent universe. He was a master prose stylist who brought a distinctly non-English tragic sensibility into English literature.Contents: Nostromo: A Tale of the SeaboardMemoirs & Letters: A Personal Record; or Some ReminiscencesThe Mirror of the SeaNotes on Life & LettersBiography and Critical Essays:Joseph Conrad (A Biography) by Hugh WalpoleJoseph Conrad by John Albert MacyA Conrad Miscellany by John Albert MacyJoseph Conrad by Virginia Woolf

Set in the fictitious mining town of Sulaco, a port city in the imaginary country of Costaguana, "Nostromo" is widely considered as one of Joseph Conrad's best works. It is the story of Senõr Gould, an English expatriate who owns the silver-mining concession in the country. When the country becomes engulfed in increasing political turmoil, Senõr Gould charges Nostromo, his trusted head longshoreman, with the duty of hiding his silver so that it does not fall into the hands of his political enemies. "Nostromo" is a classic tale of the power of money, its ability to corrupt and the turmoil that this corruption can create.