Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad

Published in 1899, Heart of Darkness tells the story of Marlow, a sailor, who is sent on a mission up the Congo River to find out what has happened to the brilliant agent, Kurtz. The story is closely based on Joseph Conrad's own time in the Congo nine years earlier, an experience which scarred him both mentally and physically for the rest of his life. Barely 100 pages long, the novel has cast a giant shadow over western literature ever since, and haunts our consciousness of colonial guilt and racism. Dense and hypnotic, half narrative and half dream, it is one of Conrad's very greatest achievements. But how did he manage to create such a work when English was his third language? What had really happened to Kurtz? How does Marlow deal with the horror? Why are professional qualifications so important? And how do we feel today about the issues around race which the novel inevitably raises? Join Rupert and Charlie as they discuss this seminal book and the extraordinary man who wrote it.