Edited and with an Introduction
by Dr Keith Carabine, Chairperson of the Joseph Conrad Society
of Great Britain
As these three specially commissioned stories amply demonstrate, Conrad
is our greatest writer of the sea. His characters are tested by dramatic
events 'that show in the light of day the inner worth of a man, the
edge of his temper, and the fibre of his stuff; that reveal the quality
of his resistance and the secret stuff of his pretences, not only to
others but also to himself'.
In Typhoon, Conrad's funniest story, Captain MacWhirr blunders into
a hurricane that reveals the sea's treachery, violence and terror.
Falk is desperate to get married, but first he must tell of his terrible
experiences as sole survivor of a stricken ship that once drifted into
the ice-caps of Antarctica. The Shadow-Line is a poignant and beautiful
story. Written during the First World War and based on Conrad's fond
evocation of his own first command, it expresses his solidarity with
all who were obliged to cross in early youth the shadow-line of their
war-torn generation. Includes a glossary of nautical terms.