Overview
Uniquely among Conrad biographies, Joseph Conrad provides an expansive tour of its subject by drawing together a wealth of written and visual resources never before juxtaposed in a single volume. Profiting from the distinctive format of documentary volumes in the Dictionary of Literary Biography series, this book coordinates such materials as hundreds of letters between Conrad and others, excerpts from his fiction and autobiographical writing, nearly a hundred contemporary reviews, and assessments by his publishers and many friends and visitors. Furthermore, 150 images-portraits, landscapes, annotated maps, key documents, and more-lavishly illustrate the people and places that Conrad knew, in addition to how his works were advertised and appeared in magazine and book forms.
Throughout this carefully curated book, Mark D. Larabee's amply detailed chapter introductions, image captions, and headnotes foreground the cultural and historical contexts within which Conrad wrote, while explaining the significance of those materials in the larger story that the volume unfolds. This rich and thoughtfully organized array places Conrad's personal and public writing in direct conversation with the wider world, clearly showing readers how the complex interplay of Conrad's childhood, literary influences and reading, voyages, aesthetic goals, and marketplace demands combined to create his literary life and enduring artistic works. Rounding out the volume are a detailed chronology, a complete list of Conrad's publications, and an extensive guide to further readings and resources. This original and stimulating treatment of Conrad presents an author whose portrayals of person and nation, culture, gender, and race resonate ever more importantly today.
Features & Benefits
- Each DICTIONARY OF LITERARY BIOGRAPHY volume has an expert volume editor responsible for planning the volume, selecting the figures for inclusion, and assigning the entries.
- Volume editors are also responsible for surveying the major periodicals and literary and intellectual movements for their volumes, as well as lists of further readings.
- To enhance the reader's understanding of the author by a knowledge of his or her environment, DLB volumes include not only drawings, paintings, and photographs of authors, often at various stages of their careers, but also illustrations of their families and places where they have lived.
- Title pages are regularly reproduced in facsimile along with dust jackets for modern authors.
- Manuscripts and letters are included when feasible.
What's New
All entries in this volume are unique to the series (see Table of Contents for listing.)
