Joseph Conrad: A Biographical Sketch

Joseph Conrad:
A Biographical Sketch
Sources
Sherry, Norman. Conrad. New York: Thames & Hudson, 1972.

Part 1: The First 36 Years
Childhood & Maritime
Experience

Derebczynka Manor, near
Berdyczów, in the Ukraine

Child w/ Parents (age 0-12)
8 May 1856: marriage of Eva Bobrowska & Apollo
Korzeniowski
3 December 1857: birth of Józef Teodor Konrad
Korzeniowski
1861: Warsaw, Polish nationalists, under-ground
City Committee, resulting exile in Vologda
1865: Eva’s death from tuberculosis
1867: return from exile; Conrad attends prep school
1869: father burns manuscripts; dies 23 May

Teenager w/ Uncle (age 12-16)
1870-73: Uncle Thaddeus Bobrowski (Eva’s brother)
places Conrad in boarding house in Cracow, Poland.
1873: sent to boarding house in Lvov; Conrad bored
1874: Uncle Thaddeus finally agrees to send Conrad
off to Merchant Marines in Marseilles, France.
1874: Uncle Thaddeus promises Conrad 2,000
francs/yr, in monthly installments

Port at Marseilles

Based in Marseilles (age 17-20)
DATE SHIP NAME ROUTE JC’S ROLE
departs:
late 1874(?)
“Mont Blanc”
Marseilles to
Martinique
passenger

Based in Marseilles (age 17-20)
DATE SHIP NAME ROUTE JC’S ROLE
departs:
late 1874(?)
departs:
25 June 1875
“Mont Blanc”
Marseilles to
Martinique
“Mont Blanc” Marseilles to
West Indies
passenger
apprentice

Based in Marseilles (age 17-20)
DATE SHIP NAME ROUTE JC’S ROLE
departs:
late 1874(?)
departs:
25 June 1875
departs:
8 July 1876
“Mont Blanc”
Marseilles to
Martinique
“Mont Blanc” Marseilles to
West Indies
“Saint-
Antoine”
Marseilles to
West Indies
passenger
apprentice
steward

Life in Marseilles (age 17-20)
café and bohemian society at the port of Marseilles
Spanish Loyalist meetings at Café Bodoul
spends lots of money quickly
March 1877: gets 3,000 francs from uncle
late 1877: attempts to join American naval service
Feb. 1878: attempts suicide in Monte Carlo

Life in England (age 21-36)
18 June 1878: arrives in London: Uncle Thaddeus
refuses to give him more money at present
Conrad starts at bottom, determined to make captain
occasionally tries other means of money-making
quarrels w/ many captains & hop from ship to ship
passes necessary exams in British Merchant Navy
and earns:
2nd mate’s ticket (1880)
1st mate’s ticket (1884)
master’s ticket (1886); also naturalized as British
citizen in 1886

Based in England (age 21-36)
DATE
July to Sept
1878
departs:
12 Oct 1878
SHIP NAME
& Type
“Skimmer of the
Seas” (coaster)
“Duke of Sutherland”
(wool-clipper)
1878 “Mavis”
1879
1880
“Europa”
(steamship)
“Loch Etive”
(wool clipper)
ROUTE
Lowestoft to
Newcastle
London to
Australia
London to
Sydney
JC’S
ROLE
BITS OF JOURNEY
BECOME FICTION

Based in England (age 21-36)
DATE
1881
1883
SHIP NAME
& Type
“Palestine”
(barque)
“Riversdale” (sailing,
1500 tons)
1883 “Narcissus”
1885 “Tilkhurst”
departs: 16
Feb. 1887
“Highland Forest”
ROUTE
London to
Bangkok
London to
Madras
Bombay to
Dunkirk
Hull to
Far East
London to
Sydney
JC’S
ROLE
1st
mate
BITS OF JOURNEY
BECOME FICTION
“Youth” (1898) & Lord
Jim (1900)
The Nigger of the
‘Narcissus’ (1897)
Lord Jim (1900), The
Shadow Line (1917)

Port at Singapore

Based in England (age 21-36)
DATE
Aug. 1887
- Jan. 1888
SHIP NAME
& Type
“Vidar”
(steamship)
ROUTE
Singapore to
South-East Asian
archipelago
islands
JC’S
ROLE
1st
mate
BITS OF JOURNEY
BECOME FICTION
Almayer’s Folly
(1895), An Outcast of
the Islands (1896),
Lord Jim (1900)

Tandjong Redeb, Bornean
Village (Vidar, 1st mate)

Based in England (age 21-36)
DATE
Aug. 1887
- Jan. 1888
Jan. 1888 -
Feb. 1888
May 1888
- Mar. '89
summer
1889
SHIP NAME
& Type
“Vidar”
(steamship)
“Otago”
(small barque)
“Otago”
(small barque)
Nürnberg
(steamship)
ROUTE
Singapore to
South-East Asian
archipelago
islands
Bangkok to
Singapore
Bangkok to
Mauritius
JC’S
ROLE
1st
mate
captain
captain
passenger
BITS OF JOURNEY
BECOME FICTION
Almayer’s Folly
(1895), An Outcast of
the Islands (1896),
Lord Jim (1900)
Falk (1903),The Secret
Sharer (1910), The
Shadow Line (1917),

1889
summer: works for Barr, Moering & Co., a firm
of shipping agents
summer: begins work on Almayer’s Folly
fall: visits ailing Uncle Thaddeus Bobroski;
receives “Bobroski’s Document” (Thaddeus will
die after JC’s next visit to Poland, Aug. 1893)

Based in England (age 21-36)
DATE
departs:
10 May 1890
departs:
c. June 1890
Nov. 1891 to
July 1893
SHIP NAME
& Type
“Ville de
Maceio”
“Roi des Belges”
(wood-burning
stern-wheeler)
“Torrens”
(clipper)
Dec. 1894 “Adowa”
ROUTE
Bordeaux to
Matadi
Kinchassa to
Stanley Falls
station
London to
Adelaide
London to
Rouen
JC’S
ROLE
passenger
captain
1st
mate
1st
mate
BITS OF JOURNEY
BECOME FICTION
Heart of Darkness
(1899)
Heart of Darkness
(1899)

1894
July 1894: finishes Almayer’s Folly and
sends to publishing house Fisher Unwin
July-Sept: waits anxiously for response
Sept: demands return of manuscript
4 Oct 1894: Fisher Unwin accepts novel,
encouraged by Edward Garnett. Conrad is
offered 20 pounds for copyright
Conrad’s days as a seaman are over . . .

Part 2: Second Life
Literary Life & Times

7 Years of Critical Success
Almayer’s Folly (1895)
An Outcast of the Islands (1896)
The Nigger of the ‘Narcissus’ (1897)
1898: the Academy praises Conrad’s work
Lord Jim (1900)
Youth volume (1902): includes Youth, Heart of
Darkness, & The End of the Tether

Relational Success
Conrad marries Jessie George in 1896; 2 kids
H. G. Wells: 1st important supportive critic
Stephen Crane: a warm friend
Ford Madox Ford: collaborates w/ Conrad on
The Inheritors (1901) & Romance (1903)
Conrad meets: Henry James, Rudyard
Kipling, George Bernard Shaw

Nostromo (1904)
A Brief Descent
1904: Jessie’s serious knee injuries
Conrad’s bankers fail
The Secret Agent (1906)
Under Western Eyes (1909): profound illness
quarrels w/ Ford Madox Ford

Matters Improve
1910: receives Civil List pension of £100
Chance (1913): huge, transatlantic bestseller
Victory (1914): sells serial rights for £1000
1914: visits Poland
The Rescuer (1919) [in progress since 1896]
1923: only visit to America; is celebrity

Death
7 August 1924