Heart of Darkness & Other Stories

Heart of Darkness & Other Stories by Joseph Conrad is a collection anchored by the iconic novella Heart of Darkness, a haunting frame narrative where seaman Charles Marlow recounts his perilous voyage up the Congo River in colonial Africa to retrieve the enigmatic ivory trader Kurtz for a European company. As Marlow navigates incompetence, brutality, and the moral void of imperialism amid dying laborers and impenetrable jungle, he confronts Kurtz’s descent into savage godhood, marked by severed heads and the infamous cry, The horror! The horror! The volume typically includes companion tales like Youth—Marlow’s nostalgic reflection on a doomed ship’s voyage—and The End of the Tether, probing an aging captain’s desperate loyalty, all showcasing Conrad’s mastery of psychological depth, atmospheric prose, and critiques of human frailty and exploitation.