1 h 53 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 if the stranger you hide aboard your ship seems closer to you than your own crew?
In Joseph Conrad’s The Secret Sharer, a young captain faces his first command as a stranger to his ship and crew. At anchor in the Gulf of Siam, he meets Leggatt, a tired swimmer who says he is chief mate of the nearby Sephora. The captain chooses to hide him.
Leggatt shares the captain’s cabin, clothes, food and secret. Each visit from the steward threatens discovery, while the captain’s older first officer senses something wrong. When the captain of the Sephora comes searching, private loyalty presses against public duty. The young commander’s authority, reputation and ship are all at risk.
What you’ll discover
- A stranger at sea Enter a quiet night at anchor where an unexpected swimmer changes the captain’s course.
- The burden of command Follow a young man who must decide alone while still unsure of himself.
- A secret within reach Feel the tension as the steward moves through the cabin where Leggatt stays hidden.
- The unsettling double Explore the captain’s bond with a stranger who seems to mirror his own self.
- Loyalty under pressure Consider what one person owes another when sympathy puts duty and authority at risk.
Is it for you?
This book suits readers who like short, tense stories, sea fiction, and tales told from inside one troubled mind. It also suits anyone new to Conrad. If you want a fast plot with many characters, you may find it too inward.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A young captain stands alone on deck
- An odd decision brings an odd discovery
- The swimmer tells his dangerous story
- Hiding a man in plain sight
- The other captain comes looking
- Doubles, secrets and the test of command
Who’s who
- The captainA young man in his first command, unsure of himself and of his crew, who tells the story and must prove his nerve.
- LeggattThe chief mate of the Sephora, who comes out of the sea one night and asks the captain to hide him.
- The chief mateThe captain's older first officer, a fussy man with fixed opinions, who senses that something is wrong on board.
- The captain of the SephoraA nervous, troubled man who comes looking for his missing officer and wants the matter settled quietly.
- The stewardThe servant who moves about the captain's cabin and so threatens the secret every time he enters.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 1 h 53 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 9 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- 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.
eBooks and audiobooks open right away. Download EPUB or PDF, or send the book to your Kindle. Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout.
How it works · 60-day guarantee
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, for the whole household.
- We remind you first. We email you 7 days before your first payment. Then your first year is 50% off: USD 0.14 a day, then USD 0.27 a day, never raised. Or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
60-day money-back guarantee. If the library is not for you, ask within 60 days of your first payment and we refund it in full.
25 languages, side by side
Read and hear The Secret Sharer in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Read it side by side
Classic & LiteraryFree to read
The Secret Sharer
by Joseph Conrad· 1910
A young captain hides a fugitive aboard his ship.
Excellent
- The whole book free
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
Opens right away, on any device
Read the whole book freeNo sign-upNothing to pay
Language: English
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 6
A young captain stands alone on deck
The story opens at the head of the Gulf of Siam. A sailing ship lies at anchor near some low islands, and the narrator looks out over a calm sea. He is the new captain. He has held the post for only a short time, and he has never commanded a ship before. Nobody on board knew him before he came, and he did not know them.
He feels this keenly. The crew, he thinks, are watching to see what sort of man he is. His chief mate is older, fussy and full of fixed opinions, and the narrator suspects the man thinks he deserved the command himself. The captain wonders how he will measure up. He is not sure what he will do when real trouble comes, and he says so with a frankness that makes him easy to trust.
Renews every year · Cancel anytime
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).
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, for the whole household. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - The whole householdUp to 5 readers
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
More by Joseph Conrad
All 22 books
Free
More like this
Free
Free
Free
FreeOur mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
Questions about The Secret Sharer
Is the whole book really free?
Yes. The Secret Sharer is one of 200 complete books that are free to read and hear, with no sign-up and nothing to pay. Start free and you also get 200,000+ more classics, the 15-minute summaries, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
Can my family read too?
Yes. The whole household reads and listens: up to 5 readers, each with their own shelf and their own place in every book.
What if it is not for me?
Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. If you have paid and the library is not for you, ask within 60 days of your first payment and we refund it in full.
What is The Secret Sharer about?
It is about a young sea captain on his first command who shelters a fugitive officer from another ship. The tale follows the secret he must keep, the risks he takes and what the stranger shows him about himself.
Who is the secret sharer in the story?
The secret sharer is Leggatt, the swimmer the captain hides in his cabin. He shares the captain's room and secret, and he also seems to share his nature, which is why the captain thinks of him as a double.
Is The Secret Sharer based on a true story?
Conrad was inspired by a real event on a ship, the Cutty Sark, where an officer killed a seaman and escaped. The tale itself is fiction. Conrad wrote it in 1909, and it appeared in 1910.
Popular in classics
See all
Free
