For instance, while serving as first mate on a ship that landed in Singapore, Conrad learned of an incident that later contributed to the plot of Lord Jim (“Conrad, Joseph”). On this ship, he began to learn English (his fourth language), and soon experienced many of the events that would later be integrated into his fiction. When he arrived in England, Conrad knew no English, but signed onto an English ship anyway. He continued to work at sea, which became an integral part of most of his works, and in 1878 at the age of twenty-one, Conrad left France for England (“Conrad, Joseph”). For the next four years he worked on French ships, smuggled guns to Spain, and was allegedly involved in a duel that wounded him. After receiving a good education in Cracow, Poland, and spending time traveling, Conrad decided to leave Poland.Īt the age of sixteen, he left the grip of Russian-occupied Poland and set out for Marseilles, France to pursue the unlikely career choice of a life at sea. With the break of the strong bond shared by Conrad and his father, his writings as an adult would later convey a melancholic attitude. Orphaned at twelve years old due to his father’s untimely death, Conrad entered a state of deep emotional stress (“Conrad, Joseph”).

His father sent the young Conrad back to his uncle for an education. When Conrad was five years old, his father was arrested for alleged actions in revolutionary plots against Russia and was exiled to northern Russia with the young Conrad and his mother.ĭue to her already weak health, his mother did not last the imprisonment and died at the age of thirty-four. Born Teodor Jozef Konrad Korzeniowski on December 3, 1857, of a patriotic Polish couple living in the Polish Ukraine, he did not have the average childhood of the time (“Bibliography” 1). In many cases, he derived the situations he wrote about from his many experiences as a seaman and adventurer.

Joseph Conrad was an author whose life was as equally amazing as the stories he wrote.

Heart of darkness author