Joseph Conrad (originally JΓ³zef Teodor Konrad Nalecz Korzeniowski) was born in the Ukraine in 1857 and grew up under Tsarist autocracy. In 1896 he settled in Kent, where he produced within fifteen years such modern classics asΒ Youth,Β Heart of Darkness,Β Lord Jim,Β Typhoon,Β Nostromo,Β The Secret AgentΒ andΒ Under Western Eyes. He continued to write until his death in 1924. Today Conrad is generally regarded as one of the greatest writers of fiction in Englishβhis third language.
Michael Gorra is a professor of English at Smith College. His books include The Bells in Their Silence: Travels Through Germany and After Empire: Scott, Naipaul, Rushdie. His book, Portrait of a Novel: Henry James and the Making of an American MasterpieceΒ (2012), was a finalist for both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award in Biography.Β