《约瑟夫·康拉德》是“剑桥文学指南”丛书中的一部。本书共收录了12篇从各个角度深入探讨康拉德的作品与思想的文章。文章分别概述了康拉德的生平，论述了他的主要作品，深入探讨了这些作品的形成与主题，同时，从总体上探讨了康拉德作品所引发的一些重要问题，包括：康拉德叙事技巧的特殊性，当前有关康拉德与帝国主义和文学现代主义的辩论，以及其作品对其他作家和艺术家的影响等。书末附有阅读指南，提供了有关文献。该论文集的出版，有助于读者在理解康拉德文化背景、历史背景及小说创作技巧的基础上鉴赏其作品。

JÓzef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski was born in Berdycz6w in a predominantly Polish part of Ukraine on December 3, 1857 to Apollo Korzeniowski and his wife Ewelina Bobrowska. Conrad's parents were of the szlachta, the Polish gentry. At the time of Conrad's birth, Poland had been partitioned among Prussia, Russia, and Austria-Hungary for over sixty years. Apollo Korzeniowski was a writer and a man passionately committed to Polish independence. He played a prominent role in the revolutionary activities of the early 1860s, for which he was arrested and convicted of seditious actions. In 1862, Korzeniowski was sentenced to exile and sent to Vologda, Russia, and then later to Chernikhov. He was accompanied by his wife and young son, and the family suffered greatly during their exile. As a result of the poor conditions, Conrad's parents both contracted tuberculosis, and his mother died in April 1865. This was a solitary time in Conrad's life, as the boy spent most of his time in the sole company of his father. Korzeniowski remained in exile until early 1868 when he was allowed to leave in order to aid in Conrad's recovery from an illness. This was a better time for them, but Korzeniowski's tuberculosis soon worsened, and he died in May of 1869, leaving Conrad an orphan. Korzeniowski was given a hero's burial and is still considered a national hero in Poland.
Conrad's experience with his father during their time together very much influenced his later years. His devotion to literature, interest in revolution- ary politics, attitudes about Russia, skeptical view of the world, and some- times adventurous spirit all probably have some origin in his experience with his father. After his father's death, Conrad was cared for by family and friends, particularly Tadeusz Bobrowski, his maternal uncle, who became a second father to Conrad. Unlike the fiery and idealistic Korzeniowski, Bobrowski was conservative, careful, practical, and ultimately disapproving of Korzeniowski's
…… 为了帮助广大读者特别是英语专业学生学习英国文学，上海外语教育出版社从国外引进了这套“剑桥文学名家研习系列”丛书。正如封底文字所说，本系列丛书旨在向学生介绍英美经典作家，而普通读者如果想进一步了解自己所喜爱的作家作品，也会发现这套丛书富有吸引力。
英国文学是英国人民在漫长的历史发展进程中创造的英国文化与文明的精华，是世界文学宝库中一颗璀璨的明珠。文学是语言的艺术，英国文学是英语语言艺术的结晶。英语表意功能强，文体风格变化多，或高雅，或通俗，或含蓄，或明快，或婉约，或粗犷，其丰富的表现力和独特的魅力在英国作家作品里得到了*为****的发挥。要真正掌握英语，必须阅读和了解**的英国文学作品，英国文学因此成为高校英语专业课程设置不可或缺的组成部分。
英国文学源远流长，经历了长期、复杂的发展演变过程。在这个过程中，文学本体以外各种现实的、历史的、政治的、文化的力量对文学发生着影响，文学也遵循自身规律，历经了盎格鲁——撒克逊、文艺复兴、新古典主义、浪漫主义、现实主义、现代主义、后现代等不同历史阶段。“剑桥文学名家研习系列”丛书（英国卷）是开放式的，首批推出莎士比亚、奥斯丁、康拉德、叶芝、T·S·艾略特、乔伊斯、伍尔夫、贝克特等8位名家，他们均为英国文学史上的里程碑式人物，对推动英国文学的发展作出了重要贡献。8位名家的创作领域涵盖了小说、诗歌和戏剧，而叶芝、T·S·艾略特和贝克特分别为1923、1948、1969年度诺贝尔文学奖得主，这也从一个侧面说明了本系列丛书入选名家的经典性。

Preface
Acknowledgments
Chaper 1 Conrad's life
Chaper 2 Conrad's context
Chaper 3 Conrad's early period
Chaper 4 Conrad's middle period
Chaper 5 Conrad's later period
Chaper 6 Conrad's criticism
Guide to fruther reading
Index
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