Joseph Conrad - Najder, Zdzislaw

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Résumé :
Up-to-date and extensive revision of Najder's much-acclaimed scholarly biography of Conrad, employing newly accessible sources. Joseph Conrad is not only one of the world's great writers of English -- and world -- literature, but was a writer who lived a particularly full and interesting life. For the biographer this is a double-edged sword, however: thereare many periods for which documentation is uncommonly difficult. Zdzislaw Najder's meticulously documented biography first appeared in English in 1983, garnering high praise as the best, most complete biography of Conrad. Najder's command of English, French, Polish, and Russian allowed him access to a greater variety of sources than any other biographer, and his Polish background and his own experience as an exile have afforded him a unique affinity forConrad and his milieu. All this has come into play once again in the present, extensively revised edition: much of its extensive new material was unearthed in newly-opened former east-bloc archives. There is new material on Conrad's father's genealogy and his role in Polish politics...

Biographie:
Conrad's service in the French and British merchant marines...

Sommaire:
Joseph Conrad is not only recognized as one of the world's great writers of English - and world - literature, but as a writer who lived a fascinating, unusually full and adventurous life. But Conrad's life presents the biographer with uncommon difficulty because, whether due to his itinerancy as a young man, the destruction of documentary evidence in the turmoil of the twentieth century, or the discreetness and relative isolation Conrad cultivated in his years as a writer, there are many periods for which documentation is difficult. Zdzis?aw Najder's meticulously documented biography first appeared in English in 1983, a product of twenty-five years of painstaking study, and received great praise as the best, most complete biography of Conrad. Najder's command of English, French, Polish, and Russian allowed him access to a greater variety of sources than any other biographer, and this has again come into play in the present revised edition. It provides extensive new material, much of it unearthed in newly opened former east-bloc archives. Najder's Polish background and his own experience as an exile in the 1980s have afforded him an unmatched affinity for Conrad and his milieu. There is new material on Conrad's father's genealogy and his role as a Polish national leader...