12 h 9 minAudiobook7 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 your first great love draws you into a cause you barely understand?
In Marseilles in the 1870s, young Monsieur George longs for experience, love and something worth serving. Mr Mills introduces him to Doña Rita, a wealthy woman whose presence draws admiration and gossip. As George falls under her spell, he enters a circle where private feeling and political loyalty are hard to separate.
Rita supports the Carlist cause, which needs money, arms and passage by sea. George becomes involved in its work as his love deepens. In Joseph Conrad's The Arrow of Gold, the older George recalls this youth with tenderness and doubt, asking how much his younger self can truly see through the dazzle of first love.
What you’ll discover
- First love under pressure Follow George's intense devotion as desire draws him closer to political risks.
- A woman beyond gossip Meet Doña Rita, whose wealth and guarded inner life resist the judgments surrounding her.
- A port of secret loyalties Enter a Marseilles of sailors, exiles and schemers, where introductions open uncertain doors.
- The sea behind the intrigue Sail alongside George and the skilled Dominic Cervoni as the cause demands practical risks.
- Memory touched by doubt Hear an older man revisit youthful certainty with fondness and a more questioning eye.
Is it for you?
This book suits readers who like Conrad's layered, reflective storytelling, and anyone drawn to stories of first love set against old political intrigue. If you want fast action and a simple plot, its slow, brooding manner may feel less suited.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A young man arrives in Marseilles
- Mills opens the door to Doña Rita
- Rita and the weight of her past
- George is drawn into the Carlist cause
- Love, illusion and the cost of youth
- A memory told with doubt
Who’s who
- Monsieur GeorgeA very young man in Marseilles who tells the story years later, eager for experience, love and a cause worth serving.
- Doña RitaA woman of striking presence and independent wealth, admired and gossiped about, who supports the Carlist cause and guards her inner life.
- Mr MillsAn older American in the Carlist circle who guides George and introduces him to Rita, observing more than he says.
- Captain BluntA reserved Carlist officer, close and protective toward Rita, whom George finds hard to read as either friend or rival.
- Dominic CervoniA Corsican sailor of great skill and calm, who sails with George and shares the risks of the sea.
- Henry AllègreAn older, wealthy artist whose influence on Rita's past and fortune is still felt in the city.
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- Large print hardcover
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The Arrow of Gold
by Joseph Conrad· 1919
A young man's first love entangles him in political intrigue.
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Language: English
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 6
A young man arrives in Marseilles
The story opens with George as an older man, remembering the time when he was barely out of boyhood. Marseilles in the 1870s is a busy port full of ship owners, adventurers and political exiles. George is young, curious and eager for experience, and he moves through the city with the confidence of someone who has not yet been tested.
He is drawn to the harbour and to the people who live by the sea. Among them is Dominic Cervoni, a Corsican sailor who becomes a trusted companion. Dominic is a figure Conrad's readers may know from his other writing, a man of the sea who is calm in danger and loyal to those he respects.
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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).
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What is The Arrow of Gold about?
It tells of a young man in 1870s Marseilles who falls in love with Doña Rita while being drawn into the Carlist cause, a secret effort to supply a Spanish pretender with money and arms.
Who is Doña Rita in The Arrow of Gold?
She is the woman at the centre of the novel, a rich, admired and much discussed figure in Marseilles who supports the Carlist cause. George falls in love with her.
When was The Arrow of Gold written?
Conrad published it in 1919, near the end of his life. It looks back to Marseilles in the 1870s, and it draws on his own youth in that port.
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