Heart of Darkness
Joseph Conrad 1899
This short novel follows Marlow up the Congo River in search of an ivory trader named Kurtz. Marlow tells his unsettling story aboard a boat on the Thames, far from the African jungle.
146 pages 2h 49m reading time
- One of the most widely read and debated short novels in English literature.
- Argues that the "civilizing" mission of European empire in Africa was really a cover for greed and cruelty.
- Suggests that the darkness of the title lies not in a faraway place but inside every person, waiting to come out when rules and watching eyes are gone.
- Inspired Francis Ford Coppola's 1979 film "Apocalypse Now," which moves the story to the Vietnam War.
- Became the center of a major debate after Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe argued in 1975 that the book is racist, a question that still shapes how it is taught and read.
Based on his own journey
In 1890, Conrad himself captained a steamboat on the Congo River, and the trip left him very ill.
Kurtz had real models
Conrad met cruel ivory agents in the Congo, and scholars have linked Kurtz to several real men.
First printed in a magazine
It first appeared in three parts in Blackwood's Magazine, a popular British monthly, in 1899.
Written quickly for money
Conrad wrote it in about two months, partly because he needed income from the magazine.