Heart of Darkness

Conrad's voyage up the Congo to Kurtz: imperialism's horror told in a frame on the Thames.

Specifications & Metrics

author

Joseph Conrad

type

Novella

era

Early modernism (1899)

language

English

setting

The Congo Free State and the Thames

parts

3 parts

Relative Scale in Novels

Core Principles & Analysis

• Serialized in Blackwood's Magazine in 1899 from Conrad's Congo command experience.
• Kurtz's 'The horror! The horror!' condenses the novella's verdict on empire.
• Achebe's 1975 critique made it the central text of the postcolonial debate.

Sources

• Wikipedia: Heart of Darkness