Zdzislaw Najder, one of the world's leading authorities on Joseph Conrad and author of the major biography Joseph Conrad: A Chronicle (1983), is widely acclaimed for his particular insights into Conrad's Polish background. The fruits of thirty years of Conrad study appear in this landmark volume of his essays, which explore a wide range of topics: Conrad's national and cultural heritage; his fictions, from the unfinished 'Sisters' and Lord Jim to The Secret Agent; his attitude towards Russia in general and Dostoevsky in particular; his concepts of man and society; and the role of the idea of honour in his work. In a series of more general essays Najder goes on to place Conrad's work within a broad European philosophical, political and literary context. Conrad in Perspective offers new insights into the life and work of one of the twentieth century's greatest novelists by one of his most perceptive critics.
This volume brings together a wide range of letters and documents which collectively shed a great deal of light on Joseph Conrad's cultural roots, a subject of growing interest in recent years. The texts have been edited by Professor Zdzislaw Najder, one of the most eminent of Conrad scholars, and translated by Halina Carroll-Najder. Very few of the texts collected here have been made available in English before; many have never appeared in the original Polish. The texts are grouped according to the events and subjects referred to. A significant collection of letters by Conrad's parents is particularly revealing. His mother, Ewa, emerges as a deeply patriotic and religious woman who was intensely loyal to her husband. His father, Apollo, was a complex man; proud, self-centered, even opinionated, he was a poet and writer of satirical comedies as well as being an outspoken democrat and fierce patriot. A different influence on the young Conrad was exerted by his uncle - guardian, Tadeusz
