Synopses & Reviews
A book for those interested in Conrad's life and work and/or literary detection convincingly performed. Professor Sherry establishes how well Conrad knew the East and how the original material he garnered there was supplemented from other sources; he also shows what Conrad made of his experiences, thus revealing clearly what the artist's own contribution was.
Review
'It is important that Norman Sherry's admirable and self-effacing research should not be put on one side as a curious bit of detective work. At the very least it is a unique and indispensable contribution to Conrad biography (there are some fine photographs). But it is more. Indirectly it is major testimony to the greatness and profundity of Conrad's imagination.' Tony Tanner, The Spectator
Review
'... the most persistent and exhaustive literary detective work on Conrad ever undertaken. Rarely can there have been a more revealing study of what a great writer can do with his material. For anyone interested in Conrad, [this] book is a must.' The Times
Review
'His work is ... a memorable accomplishment, never likely, in its own special line, to be superseded ...'. Richard Curle, The Guardian
Table of Contents
List of illustrations; Acknowledgements; 1. Introduction: The conditions of Conrad's active life; 2. Biography: The Eastern seas; Part 1. 'Lord Jim': 3. That scandal of the Eastern seas; 4. The flesh and blood individual; Part II. 'Lord Jim', 'Almayer's Folly', ' An Outcast of the Islands': 5. The Rajah Laut; 6. An Eastern River; 7. Undoubted sources: dull, wise books; Part III. 'The End of the Tether': 8. An Eastern port: Singapore; 9. The Deputy Neptune and the Arab shipowner; Part IV. 'The Shadow-Line': Exact Autobiography: 10. First command; 11. Conrad's predecessor on the Otago; 12. The delay in Bangkok; 13. The Gulf of Siam; Part V. Conclusion: The Work of the Imagination: 14. 'The Secret Sharer': The basic fact of the tale; 15. Justice to the visible universe; Appendices; References; Index.