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Word-of-mouth chronicles of ship captains, anarchists, aristocrats, merchants, and explorers, and his own experiences at sea provided Joseph Conrad with the raw materials from which he crafted his richly evocative short stories. Above and beyond their powerful narratives and compelling adventures, these stories vividly dramatize the political, spiritual, and moral conflicts of early twentieth century culture -- man in conflict against nature, against repressive institutions and governments, and against his own expectations. With their themes of restlessness, exile, and loss, their wide-ranging exotic settings, and their international cast of characters, Conrad's short stories transcend the mere adventurousness of sea yarns to address the complicated issues of individual freedom and duty, making him one of our essential writers. Edited and with an introduction by Samuel Hynes, and featuring a chronology of Conrad's life, as well as the author's own notes on the text, this is the only collection that brings together all twenty-two of Joseph Conrad's stories.