Classics · DarkCharles Marlow recounts his steamboat journey up an African river to find the ivory trader Kurtz
Heart of Darkness
A sailor tells of his steamboat journey up a river in the African interior
Charles Marlow, a sailor, tells a story on a boat on the Thames estuary in England. He recounts his assignment as a steamboat captain for a Belgian trading company on an unnamed river in the African interior that is identified as the Congo, in the Congo Free State, a private colony of Belgium's King Leopold II. He travels upriver to find Kurtz, an ivory trader who has reportedly "gone native." It was serialized in Blackwood's Magazine in February, March and April 1899 and published as a book on 13 November 1902.
More about this book
Who
Charles Marlow, who narrates, and Mr. Kurtz.
World
The Thames estuary, and the African interior along an unnamed river identified as the Congo, in the Congo Free State.
What makes it different
It is based partly on Conrad's own 1890 journey up the Congo River, and it inspired the 1979 film Apocalypse Now.
Feel
Murky and brooding.
Page count and cover shown for: Selected edition
Further reading
- Heart of DarknessWikipedia