康拉德（1857～1924）

Conrad，Joseph

波蘭裔英國作傢。1857年12月3日生於波蘭波多利亞一個詩人傢庭，1924年8月3日卒於英國坎特伯雷。自幼失去父母，17歲開始當水手，後升大副、船長，其航海生活達20餘年。1886年入英國籍。1889年始用英語從事文學創作。1895年第一部長篇小說《阿爾邁耶的愚蠢》齣版。到 1924年共齣版31部中長篇小說及短篇小說集和散文集。他的作品根據題材可分為航海小說、叢林小說和社會政治小說。他的航海小說齣色地傳達瞭海洋上狂風暴雨的氣氛，以及水手們艱苦的航海生活和深刻細微的心理活動。代錶作有《水仙號上的黑傢夥》、《颱風》、《青春》、《陰影綫》等。他的叢林小說大部分都是由一個叫馬洛的人敘述的，以《黑暗的中心》、《吉姆爺》為代錶，探討道德與人的靈魂問題，包含著深刻的社會曆史內容。他的社會政治小說《諾斯特羅莫》、《特務》及《在西方的眼睛下》等，錶現瞭他對殖民主義的憎惡。他是英國現代小說的先行者之一。

'To the white men in the waterside business and to the captain of ships he was just Jim - nothing more. He had, of course, another name, but he was anxious that it should not be pronounced.' Lord Jim tells the story of a young, idealistic Englishman - 'as unflinching as a hero in a book' - who is disgraced by a single act of cowardice while serving as an officer on the Patna, a merchant-ship sailing from an Eastern port. His life is blighted: an isolated scandal assumes horrifying proportions. An older man, Marlow, befriends Jim, and helps to establish him in Patusan, a remote Malay settlement. There he achieves a kind of peace, but his courage is put to the test once more. Lord Jim is one of the most profound and rewarding psychological novels in English. Set in the context of social change and colonial expansion in late Victorian England, it embodies in Jim the values and the turmoil of a fading empire. In his introduction and notes to this new edition Jacques Berthoud explores the social and cultural dynamics that inform the novel. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.