4 h 20 minAudiobook8 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · 106 pagesHardcover · 6 × 9 in · 106 pagesAbout this book
What happens when the promise of civilization hides a hunger for ivory and power?
At dusk on the Thames, Marlow tells his companions about a voyage up the Congo River. Hired to pilot a steamboat for a trading company, he enters a world where European claims of civilization meet the cruelty of empire. Ahead lies Kurtz, a gifted ivory agent whose reputation grows with every story Marlow hears.
In Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, the journey upriver becomes a search for what lies behind that reputation. A cold manager guards his profits. An accountant keeps spotless books amid suffering. As Marlow grows more curious about Kurtz, the tale asks what happens when greed takes hold and the rules of home fall away.
What you’ll discover
- A river journey Follow Marlow through river country where the Company's pursuit of ivory exposes its cruelty.
- The mystery of Kurtz Meet an elusive figure through the hopes, envy, and stories of those around him.
- Empire behind its promises Confront the gulf between claims of civilization and the suffering Marlow sees.
- A voice at dusk Listen as a seaman's account carries his companions far from the quiet Thames.
- Questions without easy answers Explore a brooding tale of greed, power, and the fragile boundaries of morality.
Is it for you?
This is for readers who like short books with a lot packed inside, sea stories, and tales that leave questions open. It suits anyone curious about empire and its cruelty. If you want fast action and clear answers, the dense, brooding style may feel slow.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A tale told on the Thames at dusk
- Marlow signs on with the Company
- The coast shows empire at work
- Waiting at the Central Station
- Upriver toward Kurtz
- Darkness within, and how the tale is told
Who’s who
- MarlowA seaman who tells the tale, hired to pilot a river steamer, and who grows more curious about Kurtz the farther he travels.
- KurtzA gifted ivory agent at the far Inner Station, spoken of by everyone, whom Marlow hopes to meet and understand.
- The general managerThe Company's cold and calculating chief at the Central Station, who wants to keep his post and his profits.
- The chief accountantA man in a spotless white suit at the Outer Station who keeps perfect books amid suffering and first mentions Kurtz.
- The brickmakerA gossiping agent at the Central Station who makes no bricks, talks of Kurtz with envy, and wants to rise in the Company.
- The helmsmanA young African man whom Marlow has trained to steer the steamer upriver.
- The unnamed narratorA listener aboard the Nellie who repeats Marlow's account to us.
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- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Heart of Darkness
by Joseph Conrad· 1899
A riverboat captain encounters the cruelty of colonial ivory trading.
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Language: Français
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 6
A tale told on the Thames at dusk
The book opens on the Nellie, a small cruising yacht waiting for the tide at the mouth of the Thames. Five men sit aboard. One is the unnamed friend who tells us what happens, and the others are a Director of Companies, a Lawyer, an Accountant, and Marlow, the sailor. As the sun sets, the light over London turns dark and heavy.
Marlow breaks the silence with a thought about the river itself. He says this place, too, was once one of the dark places of the earth. Long ago Roman soldiers came up the same water to a land of fog, forest and savages. To Marlow, they were not so different from the traders and adventurers of his own day.
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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).
“The Nellie, a cruising yawl, swung to her anchor without a flutter of the sails, and was at rest.”
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What is Heart of Darkness about?
A seaman named Marlow tells friends how he took a job with a Belgian trading company, steamed up an African river, and sought the ivory agent Kurtz. It is a story of empire, greed and the darkness in people.
Is Heart of Darkness based on a true story?
It is fiction, but Conrad drew on his own 1890 trip to the Congo as a river steamer captain. It appeared in a magazine in 1899 and as a book in 1902.
Why is Heart of Darkness considered controversial?
Chinua Achebe argued in 1975 that the book treats Africa as a backdrop for a European's mind and gives Africans almost no voice. Others say Conrad also attacks the cruelty of colonial rule.
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