The Nigger of the `Narcissus' / Typhoon / and Other Stories

'The Nigger of the 'Narcissus' which was the first of Conrad's novels to have the sea as a setting, contains, more than anything else he wrote, the essence of his experience at sea and his views on the practical conduct of life' - Jocelyn Baines in 'Joseph Conrad: A Critical Biography' In 'The Nigger' the author uses the Kipling touch in his description of life in the forecastle of a sailing-ship - 'a fragment detached from the earth... like a small planet.' Dominating the scene is the figure of Allistoun, the vessel's master. 'Typhoon' is the long short story in which the unimaginative Captain MacWhirr fights a steam-ship through a violent Pacific storm with a boat-load of cowering coolies. In the same volume are 'Falk' (later described by the author as 'an episode in the story of my first command'). 'Amy Foster', and 'Tomorrow'. The cover shows a detail of 'All Hands to the Pump' by Henry Scott Tuke. The Tate Gallery, London.