Overview
This is the first published version of Heart of Darkness that allows readers to hear Marlow’s voice as Conrad heard it as he wrote the story.
The editor, Robert Kimbrough, has completely re-edited the text–missing words have been restored and the entire novel has been re-punctuated in accordance with Conrad’s own style.
New to "Backgrounds" is the story of George Washington Williams, a black American who was in the Congo at the same time as Conrad. Acting on his own, Williams sent detailed reports on conditions in the Congo to both President Benjamin Harrison and Belgium’s King Leopold II. Williams’s writings, along with John Hope Franklin’s commentary on Williams, establish a strong basis for comparison with and contrast to Conrad.
Also included are historical backgrounds on the Congo/Zaire, from the late nineteenth century to the present.
"Criticism"; of the novel is wide ranging and includes newly chosen essays by third-world writers Chinua Achebe, Wilson Harris, Frances B. Singh, and C. P. Sarvan; varied commentary on the film Apocalypse Now as it relates to the novel; and essays by Ian Watt, Garrett Stewart, and Robert Kimbrough, among others.
Copyright © 2005, W. W. Norton & Company. All rights reserved.
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