1.
Joseph Conrad

2. His Life
Conrad’s real name was Teodor Jozef Konrad Korzeniowski from the Polish Ukraine (between Poland and Russia)
Conrad’s family was just below the aristocracy and above the peasantry; his father was educated, but very poor
Conrad's father, Apollo Korzeniowski

3. Conrad’s father taught him French and they read translations of great English and American writers
The family home when Joseph was a small child
Conrad’s mother, Ewa Bobrowska
The family’s
coat-of-arms

4. In 1861, Conrad’s father was sent into exile after plotting an insurrection against the Russians who had overtaken Polish land
The family was sent to live in an isolated and cold city in northern Russia; Apollo did his best to homeschool Joseph
His mother developed tuberculosis and died when Conrad was just 5

5. Conrad’s uncle provided him with a good home and education
A few years later, Conrad’s father died from tuberculosis and at age 11, Conrad was sent to live with an uncle in Cracow
Conrad’s uncle provided him with a good home and education
Ewa's brother,
Tadeusz Bobrowski

6. Joseph Conrad left home at age 16 to be a sailor; he joined the French merchant service but left when he was going to be sent to the Russian army
He joined a British freighter; In June of 1878 he arrived in England for the first time
Conrad was a Merchant Marine for several more years, writing fictionalized accounts of his experiences

7. In 1886, Conrad became a citizen of England, although he still had to visit the Russian Embassy occasionally to satisfy the Tzar that he was in England willingly; the Tzar released him of this strange obligation in 1888

8. In 1894, Conrad gave up sailing to become a full-time author
It was several years before he was able to earn an income as a writer; he often asked friends for loans and publishers for advances
His first real love interest was a lovely French girl who, it was revealed, was engaged to another man

9. In 1896 Conrad married an Englishwoman, Jessie George
The couple had two sons

10. Conrad was often torn between his traditional home in Poland and his adopted England; Poland was torn by war and oppression and Conrad’s Polish friends said he should be more politically minded to help his country
After a visit to his birthplace, Conrad became more politically active in his support of Poland

11. Conrad died at his home, Oswalds, in 1924
He was buried at Canterbury Cemetery, in a very small, quiet funeral
Jessie died in 1936 and is buried beside her husband

12. His Work
Joseph Conrad did not learn English until he was 20 years old; however, his English language books are not translated from his native Polish, they are written in English
Conrad’s works “express a sense of isolation and loneliness, even as the characters interact with others”
He is known for his descriptive imagery

13. Conrad often suffered bouts of depression, possibly linked to his time as a young man searching for his place in the world – he often felt like an outcast
His hope to return “home” to Poland was finally abandoned when he realized that the Russian government would never allow him to return without repercussions because of his radical father and grandfather’s beliefs and actions

14. Conrad’s work is highly autobiographical, and many characters can be found in both history and his own life

15. Much of Conrad’s work seems to hint at a desire for social reform
Conrad often tells stories of people placed in difficult situations where they are confronted by the cruelties of life: slavery, war, neglect, etc.
These characters often choose to do nothing to correct the issues they face, leaving the reader to deal with the issues themselves and determine how they would have faced the same situation