Remembering prominent author Joseph Conrad

CAIRO – 3 December 2017: December 3 marks the birthday of Joseph Conrad, author of the iconic "Heart of Darkness." Egypt Today looks at his life and career.

Born in Ukraine in 1857 to a noble family, Conrad had an unstable childhood as his parents were arrested and after several years they died, so he moved to live with his uncle in Poland.

Through a family gathering, Conrad met his uncle’s friend who works as a merchant. That meeting guided him to a sailing trip around the world.

At the age of 16, he became a mariner and his first station was Marseilles, France. Next, he joined the British merchant marine, and shortly after, he became a British citizen.

Through his 16 years as a mariner, Conrad visited various places from around the world, such as Africa, Australia and India.

After his sea-faring years, he decided to live on land once again, and he started to make good friendly relations with prominent writers. Conrad released his first novel "Almayer's Folly" in 1895.

At the beginning of the new century, Conrad presented two of the greatest English novels: "Lord Jim" (1900) and "Heart of Darkness" (1902).

"Heart of Darkness" is considered to be one of the early English novels that takes place in Congo.

Conrad continued his career as an author who managed to improve modern novel narrative techniques. He released many successful novels such as "The Secret Agent" (1907). His final novel was called "The Rover" which was published in 1923.

Conrad died due to a heart attack in 1924 in England. His novels are translated into different languages, and his narrative techniques are studied in most prominent universities around the world.