Biography of Joseph Conrad, Author of Heart of Darkness

Biography of Joseph Conrad, Author of Heart of Darkness Joseph Conrad (born Jà ³zef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski; December 3, 1857 - August 3, 1924) was one of the greatest English-language novelists of all time, despite the fact he was born in the Russian Empire to a Polish-speaking family. After a long career in the merchant marine, he eventually settled in England and became one of the most prominent novelists of the early 20th century, writing classics such as Heart of Darkness (1899), Lord Jim (1900), and Nostromo (1904). Fast Facts: Joseph Conrad Full Name: Jà ³zef Teodor Konrad KorzeniowskiOccupation: WriterBorn: December 3, 1857, in Berdychiv, Russian EmpireDied: August 3, 1924, in Bishopsbourne, Kent, EnglandParents: Apollo NalÄ™cz Korzeniowski and Ewa BobrowskaSpouse: Jessie GeorgeChildren: Borys and JohnSelected Works: Heart of Darkness (1899), Lord Jim (1900), Nostromo (1904)Notable Quote: The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are quite capable of every wickedness. Early Life Joseph Conrads family was of Polish descent and lived in Berdychiv, a city now part of Ukraine and then part of the Russian empire. It is located in a region that the Polish sometimes refer to as the Stolen Lands, since it was taken from the Kingdom of Poland. Conrads father, Apollo Korzeniowski, a writer and political activist, took part in the Polish resistance to Russian rule. He was imprisoned in 1861 when the future author was a young child. The family endured exile to Vologda, three hundred miles north of Moscow, in 1862, and they were later moved to Chernihiv in northeast Ukraine. As a consequence of the familys struggles, Conrads mother, Ewa, died of tuberculosis in 1865. Apollo raised his son as a single father and introduced him to the works of French novelist Victor Hugo and the plays of William Shakespeare. They moved to the Austrian-held section of Poland in 1867 and enjoyed more freedom. Suffering from tuberculosis like his wife, Apollo died in 1869 leaving his son an orphan at age eleven. Conrad moved in with his maternal uncle. He was raised to pursue a career as a sailor. At age sixteen, fluent in French, he moved to Marseilles, France, to look for a career in the merchant marine. Merchant Marine Career Conrad sailed for four years on French ships before joining the British merchant marine. He served for fifteen more years under the British flag. He eventually rose to the rank of captain. The elevation to that rank came unexpectedly. He sailed on the ship Otago out of Bangkok, Thailand, and the captain died at sea. By the time the Otago arrived at its destination in Singapore, the entire crew except Conrad and the cook were suffering from fever. Photo circa 1960: A bust of Joseph Conrad as a figurehead on the prow of The Joseph Conrad, a training ship built in Copenhagen in 1882. Three Lions / Getty Images The characters in Joseph Conrads writing are mostly drawn from his experiences at sea. Three years of association with a Belgian trading company as captain of a ship on the Congo River led directly to the novella Heart of Darkness. Conrad completed his final long-distance voyage in 1893. One of the passengers on the ship Torrens was 25-year-old future novelist John Galsworthy. He became a good friend of Conrad shortly before the latter began his writing career. Success as a Novelist Joseph Conrad was 36 when he left the merchant marine in 1894. He was ready to seek a second career as a writer. He published his first novel Almayers Folly in 1895. Conrad was concerned that his English might not be strong enough for publication, but readers soon considered his approach to the language as a non-native writer an asset. Conrad set the first novel in Borneo, and his second, An Outcast of the Islands, takes place in and around the island of Makassar. The two books helped him develop a reputation as a teller of exotic tales. That depiction of his work frustrated Conrad, who looked to be taken seriously as a top writer of English literature. Handwritten and typed letter from Joseph Conrad to Ford Madox Ford. Culture Club / Getty Images During the next fifteen years, Conrad published what most consider the finest works of his career. His novella Heart of Darkness appeared in 1899. He followed it with the novel Lord Jim in 1900 and Nostromo in 1904. Literary Celebrity In 1913, Joseph Conrad experienced a commercial breakthrough with the publication of his novel Chance. Today it is not viewed as one of his best works, but it outsold all of his previous novels and left the author with financial security for the rest of his life. It was the first of his novels to focus on a woman as a central character. Conrads next novel, Victory, released in 1915, continued his commercial success. However, critics found the style melodramatic and expressed concern that the authors artistical skills were fading. Conrad celebrated his financial success by building the house he called Oswalds in Bishopsbourne, Canterbury, England. Personal Life Joseph Conrad suffered from a range of physical maladies, most of them due to exposure during his years in the merchant marine. He battled gout and recurrent attacks of malaria. He also struggled occasionally with depression. In 1896, while in the early years of his writing career, Conrad married Jessie George, an Englishwoman. She gave birth to two sons, Borys and John. Joseph Conrad and Family. Time Life Pictures / Getty Images Conrad counted many other prominent writers as friends. Among the closest were future Nobel laureate John Galsworthy, American Henry James, Rudyard Kipling, and collaborator on two novels, Ford Madox Ford. Later Years Joseph Conrad continued to write and publish novels through his final years. Many observers considered the five years after World War I ended in 1919 the most peaceful part of the authors life. Some of Conrads contemporaries pushed for recognition with a Nobel Prize for Literature, but it was not forthcoming. In April 1924, Joseph Conrad turned down the offer of a British knighthood due to his background in Polish nobility. He also turned down offers of honorary degrees from five prestigious universities. In August 1924, Conrad died at his home of an apparent heart attack. He is buried with his wife, Jessie, in Canterbury, England. Legacy Shortly after Joseph Conrads death, many critics focused on his ability to create stories that illuminated exotic locales and to humanize sordid events. Later analysis has focused on deeper elements in his fiction. He often examines the corruption that lies just beneath the surface of otherwise admirable characters. Conrad focuses on fidelity as a crucial theme. It can save the soul and wreak terrible destruction when it is breached. Conrads powerful narrative style and the use of anti-heroes as main characters have influenced a wide range of great writers of the 20th century, from William Faulkner to George Orwell and Gabriel Garcia Marquez. He paved the way for the development of modernist fiction. Source Jasanoff, Maya. The Dawn Watch: Joseph Conrad in a Global World. Penguin Press, 2017.

Serial Killer Edward Gein

Serial Killer Edward Gein When police went to Ed Geins Plainfield, Wisconsin, farm to investigate the disappearance of a local woman, they had no idea they would discover some of the most grotesque crimes ever committed. Gein and an accomplice had been robbing graves to find bodies for his experiments, but he decided he needed fresher corpses and began killing and dismembering women. The Gein Family Ed, his older brother, Henry, his father, George, and his mother, Augusta, lived on a  farm a few miles outside Plainfield. George was an alcoholic, and Augusta, a religious fanatic, was a demanding and overbearing woman. She loathed George, but due to her deep religious beliefs, divorce wasnt an option. Augusta had run a small grocery store until she purchased the farm. She picked it because it was secluded and she wanted to keep outsiders  from influencing her sons. The boys left the farm only for school, and Augusta blocked their attempts to have friends. As far back as Ed could remember, Augusta either delegated farm work for the boys or quoted the Gospel. She labored to teach them about sin, especially the evils of sex and women. Ed was small and  appeared effeminate. He often laughed randomly, as if at his own jokes, which resulted in bullying. In 1940, when Ed was 34, George died as a result of his alcoholism. Four years later Henry died while fighting a fire. Ed was now responsible for the welfare of his domineering mother, tending to her until her death in 1945. Ed, now alone, sealed off all but one room and the kitchen of the farmhouse. He no longer worked the farm after the government began paying him under a soil conservation program. Local handyman jobs subsidized his income. Fantasy of Sex and Dismemberment Ed stayed to himself, spending hours obsessed with sexual fantasy and reading about female anatomy. Human experiments performed in Nazi camps also fascinated him. As his mental images of sex and dismemberment merged, Ed reached gratification. He told Gus, another loner and longtime friend, about experiments he wanted to perform, but he needed bodies, so together they began robbing graves, including that of Eds mother. Over ten years, experiments with the corpses became more gruesome and bizarre, including  necrophilia and cannibalism. Ed then returned the corpses to their graves, except for parts he kept as trophies. His obsession centered  on his overpowering desire to turn himself into a woman. He constructed items from womens skin that he could drape on himself, such as female masks and breasts. He even made a body-size female-like jumpsuit. Mary Hogan Grave robbing was his  only source of bodies until Ed decided that perfecting his sex change required fresher corpses. On Dec. 8, 1954, Ed killed tavern owner Mary Hogan. Police couldnt solve her disappearance, but evidence at the tavern indicated foul play. Gus wasnt involved in the murder, having been  institutionalized beforehand. Bernice Worden On Nov. 16, 1957, Ed entered  Bernice Wordens  hardware store, a place he had been  hundreds of times, so Bernice had no reason to fear him, even when he removed a .22 rifle from the display rack. After putting his own bullet into the rifle, Ed shot  Bernice, placed her body into the store truck, returned to get the cash register, and drove to his home. An investigation into  Bernices disappearance began after her son, Frank, a deputy sheriff, returned late that afternoon from a hunting trip and discovered his mother missing and blood on the floor of the store.  Although Ed had no criminal history, Waushara County Sheriff Art  Schley felt it was time to visit the  odd loner. Unfathomable Crimes Uncovered Police found Ed near his home, then went to his farmhouse hoping to find Bernice. They started with the shed. Working in the dark, Waushara County sheriff Art  Schley lit a torch and found Bernices naked corpse hanging upside down, disemboweled, the throat and head missing. Turning to Eds house, they found evidence  more horrific than anyone could have imagined. Everywhere they saw body parts: skulls made into bowls, jewelry made from human skin, hanging lips, chairs upholstered with human skin, facial skin that resembled masks, and a box of vulvas including his mothers, painted silver. The body parts, it was later determined, came from 15 women; some could never be identified. Wordens mothers heart was found in a pan on the stove. Ed  was committed to  Waupun State Mental Hospital for the rest of his life. It was revealed that he killed older women because of his love-hate feelings for his mother. He died of cancer at 78, and his remains were buried in his family plot in Plainfield. Ed Geins crimes as a serial killer inspired the film characters  Norman Bates (Psycho), Jame Gumb (The Silence of the Lambs) and Leatherface (Texas Chainsaw Massacre). Sources Deviant: The Shocking True Story of Ed Gein, by Harold Schechter