9 h 34 minAudiobook8 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 happens when strength, duty, and good manners offer no protection against betrayal?
In A Set of Six, Joseph Conrad follows people under pressure, where justice rarely gives them what they deserve. Gaspar Ruiz takes you into the Chilean wars with a powerful soldier whose strength serves other people’s purposes. The Informer enters London’s revolutionary circles through the easy voice of Mr X. In The Brute, the merchant ship Apse Family carries a terrible reputation among seamen.
An Anarchist turns to Paul, a French mechanic on a remote South American estate, who rejects the label others give him. The Duel draws officers Armand D’Hubert and Gabriel Feraud into a feud during the Napoleonic wars. Il Conde follows a courteous older nobleman in Naples as quiet menace threatens his gentle world. Several tales reach you through speakers whose habits and blind spots shape what you hear.
What you’ll discover
- Strength in other hands Follow Gaspar Ruiz as opposing sides find uses for his immense physical power.
- Labels and hidden loyalties Enter the uncertain worlds of Mr X and Paul, where political labels conceal personal stories.
- A ship sailors fear Meet the Apse Family, a merchant vessel with a terrible name among seamen.
- A quarrel without rest Watch calm duty collide with fierce temper in the feud between D’Hubert and Feraud.
- Courtesy under threat Walk through Naples with the Count, whose gentle manners meet a quiet menace.
Who will love it
For readers who love short fiction with a sharp edge, history woven into plot, and stories that leave a question open. These tales explore war, conspiracy, honour and the ways people act under pressure.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A strong man is used by every side
- An informer hides inside the movement
- A ship with a murderous reputation
- A mechanic is branded an anarchist
- Two officers fight a feud for years
- A polite old man meets a quiet menace
Who’s who
- Gaspar RuizA huge, simple peasant soldier in the Chilean wars whose strength is used by one side after another.
- ErminiaThe woman Gaspar marries, whose life is bound to his fortunes in the wars.
- Mr XThe easy-voiced teller of The Informer, who shares a story from his dealings with London anarchists.
- PaulA French mechanic on a South American estate who is branded an anarchist, though he rejects the label, and carries a hard past.
- Armand D'HubertA calm, correct hussar officer who wants only to do his duty but is pulled into a feud.
- Gabriel FeraudA hot-tempered Gascon hussar officer who takes offence easily and will not let a quarrel end.
- The CountAn elderly, courteous Italian nobleman in Naples who lives by a gentle code of manners.
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- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
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- Large print hardcover
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Six nouvelles
by Joseph Conrad · 1908
Two hussar officers carry a quarrel through a war, testing what honour demands of men.
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From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 6
A strong man is used by every side
Gaspar Ruiz opens the collection in South America during the wars against Spanish rule. The story is told in later years by a Chilean general, who remembers events from his youth. Gaspar is a simple, enormously strong peasant who joins the patriot army. He is brave but has no politics and no cunning, and he is not a man who asks why he fights.
He is captured by the royalists, and here the tale shows its cruelty. His captors do not simply imprison him. They see his strength as a tool they can use. The story fixes on this idea. A man's gift is turned into a burden by people who want a use for it.
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What stories are in A Set of Six?
The collection holds six tales: Gaspar Ruiz, The Informer, The Brute, An Anarchist, The Duel and Il Conde. They differ in setting and tone, from war and conspiracy to a haunted ship and a quiet encounter in Naples.
When was A Set of Six published?
It was published in 1908. Conrad wrote the stories in the years around his political novels such as Nostromo and The Secret Agent, and some of them share that interest in conspiracy and betrayal.
What is The Duel about?
The Duel follows two French hussar officers in the Napoleonic wars, D'Hubert and Feraud. A trivial quarrel leads to repeated duels over many years, and the story asks what honour demands of men.
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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