14 h 44 minAudiobook15 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 14 h 44 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if one frightened moment at sea destroys the honour you hope to build your life around?
Jim dreams of being a hero. As chief mate aboard the Patna, he has hundreds of pilgrims in his care. Then fear takes hold, and he abandons the ship he believes is sinking. The passengers survive, but his desertion comes before a formal inquiry. Joseph Conrad’s Lord Jim asks what remains when a man fails his own deepest test.
Marlow, an older seaman, meets Jim at the hearing and struggles to understand him. Friendship and work offer possible ways forward, while the merchant Stein opens a path toward distant Patusan. There, Jim hopes to rebuild his honour. Marlow tells his story piece by piece, drawing you into the distance between the man Jim imagines and the choices he makes.
What you’ll discover
- A dream tested by fear Follow a sincere young sailor whose longing for heroism meets the panic of possible disaster.
- An uneasy friendship Watch Marlow seek understanding where the court can only judge Jim’s actions.
- A distant fresh start Enter Patusan, where Jim seeks a life beyond the shame that follows him.
- Honour without easy answers Weigh the claims of courage, guilt, and imagination without a simple verdict.
- A story in pieces Let Marlow’s winding account draw you closer to a man he cannot stop questioning.
Who will love it
You will love this book if you enjoy sea stories, moral puzzles and characters you keep turning over in your mind. It suits anyone fascinated by honour, shame and second chances.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A boy dreams of heroism he has never tested
- An easy berth on a rotting steamer
- A quiet night on the bridge goes wrong
- Jim jumps and the ship does not sink
- The inquiry asks how, not why
- Marlow helps a man he cannot understand
- He runs from town to town, and the story follows
- Stein sends him to a country at the end of the map
- In Patusan he becomes Tuan Jim, and then meets Jewel
- Honour, imagination and the second chance
- A story told in the dark, piece by piece
Who’s who
- JimA clergyman's son and ship's officer who dreams of heroism and is haunted by one failure, searching for a place to start again.
- MarlowA thoughtful sea captain who tells the story, watches Jim closely and helps him, never fully sure what he understands.
- SteinA wise merchant and butterfly collector who calls Jim romantic and finds him a new place to live and work.
- JewelA young woman in Patusan, bullied by her stepfather, who loves Jim and fears that the outside world will take him.
- DoraminThe great leader of the Bugis settlers in Patusan, a solemn old man who becomes Jim's protector.
- Dain WarisDoramin's son, brave and clear-minded, who becomes Jim's closest friend among the Bugis.
- CorneliusThe mean, creeping trader in Patusan who resents Jim and wants money for the girl he raised.
- BrownA hard, bitter sea robber who arrives in Patusan hungry and ready to take what he can.
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Lord Jim
by Joseph Conrad · 1900
A young sailor abandons a sinking ship full of pilgrims, then spends his life trying to outrun one jump.
Medium level10–20 hours to readEspañol
Excellent
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In short
What does a man do when he has dreamed of heroism all his life and then, at the one moment that counts, jumps? That question drives Lord Jim, a novel by Joseph Conrad, who spent years at sea himself.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A boy dreams of heroism he has never tested
Jim grows up in a country parsonage, the son of a clergyman. After reading adventure stories, he chooses the sea and is sent to a training ship. He does well there, and everyone likes him. He looks every inch a future captain.
On the lower deck he lives in daydreams. He sees himself rescuing drowning people and keeping up the spirits of despairing men in an open boat. Then a winter gale blows up at dusk, and the boys rush to man a cutter. Jim stands frozen at the rail, awed by the storm, and the boat pulls away without him.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 15 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1900
- Language
- Español
- Reading time
- 9 h 35 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Conrad, Joseph. Lord Jim. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/lord-jim.
Conrad, J. (2026). Lord Jim. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/lord-jim (Original work published 1900)
Conrad, Joseph. Lord Jim. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/lord-jim.
@book{conrad2026lord,
author = {Conrad, Joseph},
title = {Lord Jim},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/lord-jim},
note = {First published 1900}
}
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What is Lord Jim about?
A young sailor named Jim jumps from a damaged ship carrying pilgrims. Haunted by shame, he tries to hide, then finds a new life in a remote forest district. A captain named Marlow tells the tale.
Who is Marlow in Lord Jim?
Marlow is a thoughtful merchant captain who attends Jim's inquiry and befriends him. He tells most of the story aloud, adding his own doubts and guesses, and also appears in other Conrad works.
What happens on the Patna?
The Patna is an old steamer carrying about eight hundred pilgrims. She strikes something in the night, and her officers panic. That moment drives the whole novel, and Jim's part in it is the question Marlow keeps asking.
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).
More by Joseph Conrad
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