6 h 12 minAudiobook9 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 holds a crew together when a sick shipmate stirs pity, suspicion, and unrest?
In Joseph Conrad’s short novel, the Narcissus sails from Bombay towards London around the Cape of Good Hope. Aboard is James Wait, a proud black sailor from the West Indies. As he lies ill in his bunk, the men bring him food, tend him, and begin to divide over his needs.
A gale throws the ship on her side, testing men who already struggle with trust and authority. Captain Allistoun must hold them together while Donkin turns their moods against the officers. Beyond the storm, Conrad explores a harder question: how much can people depend on one another when compassion and doubt pull in different directions?
What you’ll discover
- A ship under pressure Feel the danger of a gale that leaves the masts almost flat against the water.
- Care tangled with doubt Follow Belfast’s devotion to Wait as illness changes the temper of the whole crew.
- The strength of craft Meet Singleton, whose quiet skill and endurance stand against complaint and unrest.
- A crew speaking together Discover a collective narrative voice that moves between individual sailors and their shared world.
- Solidarity and its limits Explore how trust, work, and obedience sustain a small society cut off from land.
Who will love it
For readers who love sea stories and the drama of groups under pressure, with storms, divided loyalties and working men who depend on one another.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A crew gathers in Bombay
- A sick man answers the roll
- Pity and suspicion divide the forecastle
- The storm tests every man
- What the story is really about
- How Conrad tells it
Who’s who
- James WaitA proud black sailor from the West Indies who comes aboard late, falls ill, and holds the whole crew's attention.
- DonkinA sly, lazy sailor who complains about everything and tries to turn the crew's moods against the officers.
- SingletonAn old, silent seaman of great skill, who stands for the steady craft and endurance of sailors.
- Captain AllistounThe calm, watchful captain who must keep order and hold the ship together through storm and unrest.
- Mr BakerThe blunt, loyal mate who calls the roll and distrusts Wait's claims of sickness.
- BelfastA warm-hearted Irish sailor who grows deeply devoted to Wait and cares for him in his bunk.
- PodmoreThe ship's cook, a pious man who takes a strong interest in the sick sailor and in the crew's souls.
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- Audiobook
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- 15-minute summary
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- Paperback
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- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
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- Large print hardcover
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El negro del «Narciso»
by Joseph Conrad · 1897
Aboard the Narcissus, a sick sailor divides the crew as a storm tests whether they can still act as one.
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In short
The Nigger of the 'Narcissus' is a short novel by Joseph Conrad, published in 1897. It follows a merchant sailing ship, the Narcissus, on a voyage from Bombay to London around the Cape of Good Hope.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A crew gathers in Bombay
The story opens on the deck of the Narcissus in Bombay harbour, at night, as the crew is mustered before the voyage home. The mate, Mr Baker, calls the names from a list. The men answer one by one, and Conrad sketches each of them in a few strokes. We meet an ordinary sailors' world of rough humour, tired bodies and long habit.
The oldest man among them is Singleton, a veteran seaman who has spent his life on ships and who barely speaks. He is steady and skilled, and the younger men look up to him almost as a kind of living tradition. Near him stand Belfast, a warm-hearted Irishman, and Podmore, the ship's cook, a deeply religious man. Each has a clear, simple way of being, and together they stand for a whole trade.
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What is The Nigger of the Narcissus about?
It follows a merchant ship sailing from Bombay to London. The crew is thrown into turmoil by a sick black sailor, James Wait, and by a troublemaker named Donkin, and then must face a terrible storm together.
Why does the book have that title?
The title uses a slur common in Conrad's day to name its central character, James Wait. In the United States the book first appeared under a different title, The Children of the Sea.
When was The Nigger of the Narcissus written?
Conrad published it in 1897. It is a work of fiction, but it draws on his own years as a sailor and on his knowledge of life aboard a merchant ship.
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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