11 h 56 minAudiobook13 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if the man who saves you becomes the person you find easiest to betray?
Peter Willems is clever, vain, and certain he deserves more. When theft brings disgrace in Macassar, Captain Tom Lingard offers him shelter and a chance to begin again. In Joseph Conrad’s An Outcast of the Islands, that rescue leads to Sambir, a jungle settlement where gratitude sits uneasily beside wounded pride.
Here, Lingard guards a secret river route, Almayer resents the newcomer, and rival traders watch for an opening. Willems meets Aïssa, whose hold on him unsettles everything else. As desire and ambition tighten around him, Conrad explores the excuses that make betrayal seem reasonable—and the trust those excuses put at risk.
What you’ll discover
- A mind making excuses Follow Willems as he turns greed and wounded vanity into reasons to justify himself.
- The hidden river Enter winding channels where a guarded trading route gives Lingard power and draws his rivals.
- A passion that blinds Meet Aïssa, proud and fiercely devoted, whose presence unsettles Willems’s sense of himself.
- Rivals beneath the surface Watch Almayer’s resentment and Babalatchi’s patient plans deepen the tensions around the newcomer.
- Trust under pressure Explore how pride, greed, and colonial trade strain loyalty in a close, heavy tropical world.
Who will love it
For readers who love psychological fiction, sea and colonial settings, and stories of moral failure told with care.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A clerk who thinks himself above all others
- A theft and the man who shelters him
- Lingard's secret river and its price
- Sambir and the bitterness of Almayer
- Aïssa and a passion that blinds him
- Babalatchi weaves his quiet plan
- Willems decides to sell the secret
- Pride, race and the ruin of trust
- How Conrad tells it and why it lasts
Who’s who
- Peter WillemsA clever, vain clerk who cannot bear gratitude, and who wants to be admired as the great man he believes himself to be.
- Captain Tom LingardA generous, headstrong trader called Rajah Laut, who guards a secret river and tries to save Willems from disgrace.
- AïssaThe proud, silent daughter of Omar, loyal to her father and her people, and fiercely devoted once she has given her heart.
- Omar el BadaviAn old, blind Arab-Malay chief and former sea raider who lives in poverty and has not given up his dream of revenge.
- AlmayerLingard's trader at Sambir, a bitter, suspicious man who waits for a fortune that never comes and resents Willems.
- BabalatchiThe patient, shrewd adviser who works for Lakamba and Omar, and who wants to break Lingard's hold on the river.
- AbdullaA powerful Arab trader and Lingard's rival, who longs to learn the hidden route into Sambir.
- JoannaWillems's wife in Macassar, who belongs to the mixed community of the port, and who is bound to him by their young son.
Formats and delivery
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- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 11 h 56 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 13 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
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- Large print hardcover
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Ein Ausgestoßener der Inseln
by Joseph Conrad · 1896
Sheltered on a secret river, Peter Willems faces a choice that puts his protector's trust at stake.
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From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 9
A clerk who thinks himself above all others
The story opens in Macassar, a busy trading port on the island of Celebes, which is now called Sulawesi. Peter Willems is a young Dutch clerk, and he works for the powerful merchant Hudig. He is quick, well dressed and admired by the people around him. Above all, he admires himself.
Willems believes that his success is the plain result of his own talent. He does not feel gratitude toward the men who helped him, and he treats those beneath him with a light contempt. Conrad lets the reader see how thin this confidence is. A man who needs to be told he is brilliant is a man who can be turned by anyone who tells him so.
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What is An Outcast of the Islands about?
It tells of Peter Willems, a proud clerk who steals from his employer, is sheltered by Captain Lingard in a hidden river settlement, and then betrays his protector under the influence of love, resentment and the schemes of others.
Is An Outcast of the Islands a sequel to Almayer's Folly?
Not exactly. It was written second but is set earlier in the story of Almayer and Lingard. It shows events that come before the first book, so you can read either one first.
Who is Aïssa in An Outcast of the Islands?
Aïssa is the young daughter of the blind chief Omar el Badavi. Willems falls deeply in love with her, and her loyalty to her father and her people shapes much of what happens in Sambir.
The author
Joseph Conrad
1857–1924 · Polish-British novelist
Joseph Conrad (1857–1924) was a Polish-British writer born in Berdychiv, then in the Russian Empire and now in Ukraine. He worked at sea before settling in England. He wrote in English. His works include Heart of Darkness (1899), Lord Jim (1900), Nostromo (1904), and The Secret Agent (1907).
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