of the language. He would study hard and not only learnt the language to such a standard that he would eventually write fiction in his adopted language, but also rose to the position of officer. Ultimately, a life at sea was not for Conrad. He spent a short time as captain of one ship before leaving a life at sea for the rest of his life. In 1889, Conrad took a holiday in London and began writing Almayer’s Folly. The novel was not complete until five years later when it was submitted to the publisher Fisher Unwin. The novel was published a year later. Conrad did not receive a great deal of money for his first novel and financial concerns would provide him with considerable anxiety for many years.

In 1896, Conrad married Jessie George. Their relationship was tense and typified by conflict and financial difficulty. Conrad was prone to bouts of manic depression and Jessie would stoically support his outbursts and nurture his depression. The couple had two sons, John and Borys. Conrad achieved some financial stability in 1910 as a result of a civil list pension which provided him with an annual income in recognition of distinguished service to the arts. The stress of writing would take its toll on Conrad and he suffered a nervous breakdown in 1910 after completing Under Western Eyes. Conrad’s period of literary productivity spans 30 years during which he produced 20 novels and wrote extensively for periodicals in England and America. Conrad’s writing was collected in anthologies of essays and short stories and his work marks an important moment of transition between the nineteenth and twentieth century. His work achieves a breath of contemporary concerns that embraces issues of individual identity often in conflict with greater concerned of nationhood or social influences. Conrad was not afraid to experiment with his writing both thematically and stylistically, although many of his narratives and characters are drawn from his own personal experience.

The publication of Chance in 1913 started a change in Conrad’s financial and critical fortunes. He had previously received some measure of critical recognition for his work. After the success of Chance, Conrad previous novels were more widely acknowledged. Conrad was a hard working writer whose life was difficult and full of conflict. It is the struggle and turmoil of Conrad’s life that often arises as a powerful element of his work. After declining a knighthood in 1924, Conrad died of a heart attack and was buried in Canterbury, Kent.