Conrad in Perspective: Essays on Art and Fidelity

Description

Zdzis D/law Najder is one of the world's leading authorities on Joseph Conrad and is widely acclaimed for his particular insights into Conrad's Polish background. The fruits of thirty years of Conrad study appear in this landmark volume of his essays. Najder's insights are brought to bear on Conrad's national and cultural heritage, on his fiction itself, on his concepts of man and society, and on his European context. The volume offers new perspectives on Conrad's life and work by one of his most extraordinary critics.

'As a Pole, with deep knowledge not only of Polish history and culture but also of the whole tradition of European literature and thought, Najder comes closer to Conrad than anyone else conceivably could. As a result, he writes of Conrad with an inwardness, a familiarity, an authority, which cannot be equalled. For Conrad studies he is, really, indispensable.' Tony Tanner 'Zdzislaw Najder is not only one of the best Conrad critics, but the one who speaks with the most authority on the matter of Conrad's background. He, if anyone, should be able to dispel that Forsterian 'mist'. And, in the sixteen short essays which make up Conrad in Perspective, he goes a long way towards doing so, at least in relation to the complex and fascinating question of what might be called the Conradian literary genes.' The Times Literary Supplement 'All of the ... essays are admirably clear, neatly structured and cogently argued. All have an original point to make. And all are marked by enthusiasm for their subject. Even the most jaded Conrad reader will find much that is worthwhile in them.' Panorama