The Cambridge Edition of the Letters of Joseph Conrad
1 primary work • 3 total works
Volume 8
Volume Eight of Conrad's collected letters covers the last nineteen months of his life (1923-24). Much of this correspondence is unpublished; its editors have had access to the major private collections as well as holdings in public and academic libraries. The letters themselves are accompanied by notes on contexts, allusions, and editorial problems, and prefaced with a general introduction and biographies of the correspondents. Letters to his family written during his visit to the United States are a notable feature of this collection, which is also rich in comments on literary questions, current events, his experiences at sea, the reception of The Rover, and work on his unfinished novel, Suspense.
The Collected Letters of Joseph Conrad 9 Volume Hardback Set
by Joseph Conrad
Published 13 March 2008
This landmark nine-volume set offers the complete letters of Joseph Conrad in the highly acclaimed authorised Cambridge edition. Starting with his earliest letters to his imprisoned father and following through his adult careers at sea and as a writer, and his experiences as lover, husband, friend, and parent, these volumes allow scholars to read Conrad's life in his own words. The first eight volumes present over four thousand letters in chronological order. The final volume includes, as well as a cumulative index to the edition, more than two hundred newly available letters, adding fresh nuances and complexities to the remarkable story of his life and work. In each volume, extensive explanatory notes and invaluable introductions illuminate the context of his work and times. This edition has become a standard reference work for all scholars and students of Conrad, and will retain its importance for generations to come.
Since the publication of the Cambridge edition of The Collected Letters of Joseph Conrad, the numerous letters in the nine volumes, many of them published for the first time and many more taken from hard-to-find books and journals, have had a profound influence on writing about Conrad. This selection makes the highlights available in one volume. The letters have been re-edited with shorter footnotes and an emphasis on the latest scholarship. Letters originally written in French or Polish appear only in revised English translations. Among the topics that stand out are Conrad's memories of growing up in Poland and Ukraine, his ideas about fiction, often expressed in precise but sympathetic comments on the work of his friends, the anxieties of war and revolution, his struggle to keep his integrity as a writer, and his lives as a sailor and a family man.