Conradology

About

A merchant sailor works for a decade, captaining a yacht up and down the coasts of Malaysia, in the hope that his crooked employer will stay true to a promise...

Years after a pandemic sweeps across Europe, wiping out its all-white population, a pilgrim returns to his Polish birthplace in search of the only other non-white kid he knew at school...

An inscrutable hotelier loses his composure when a secret passage is discovered in his hotel, leading to a mysterious room and a previously hidden existence...

Born in what is now Ukraine to Polish parents, naturalised as a British citizen, and schooled on the high seas of international commerce, Joseph Conrad was a true citizen of the world. His novels bore witness to the dehumanising repercussions of empire, explored a world in which state-sponsored terrorism ruined individuals' lives, and pioneered complex narrative structures and subjective points-of-view in what was to become the first wave of literary modernism.

To mark his 160th birthday, 14 authors and critics from Britain, Poland and elsewhere have come together to celebrate his legacy with new pieces of fiction and non-fiction. Conrad felt that the writer's task was to offer 'that glimpse of truth for which you have forgotten to ask.' In an age of increasing isolationism, these celebrations remind you of the value of such glimpses.

Commissioned as part of the Joseph Conrad Year 2017, the book has been published with the support from the Polish Cultural Institute, the Polish Book Institute, and the British Council.

Press

"[An] imaginatively conceived anthology... Conrad’s work was firmly embodied in twentieth-century culture, as much for being the basis for Apocalypse Now as for its impact on readers, and Conradology should be praised for bringing it into the literature, and politics, of the twenty-first century." - Bookmunch

"[A]n excellent collection, well edited... a vital companion to Conrad for his many fans." - Storgy

"[A] superb and timely collection of short stories and non-fiction essays... The sheer diversity and brevity of narratives selected by the editors ensures the readers’ satisfaction. Part of the joy of reading this short story and non-fiction collection is discovering the connection to Conrad’s work; although in some cases it is not always straightforward. Nevertheless, this collection signals the timelessness of Conrad’s work. Despite the strong criticism surrounding some of his novels and short stories, the response of the authors in this book shows Conrad’s work can still inspire and challenge." - A.M. Bakalar, Glasgow Review of Books

Culture.pl explores the contents of the book and asks 'What do these 21st-century versions of Conrad have to tell us about our world today?'