3 Review(s)

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 Bobrowski, a levelheaded rationalist and enlightened liberal; numerous fragments of his memoirs are included in the book. His book will be an essential tool of reference for all serious students of Conrad.