Joseph Conrad’s novella, Heart of Darkness, has fascinated critics and readers alike, engaging them in highly controversial debate as it deals with fundamental issues of good and evil, civilisation, race, love and heroism. This classic tale transcends the boundaries of time and place and has inspired famous film and television adaptations emphasising the cultural significance and continued relevance of the book.

This guide to Conrad’s captivating novel offers:

• an accessible introduction to the text and contexts of Heart of Darkness


• a critical history, surveying the many interpretations of the text from publication to the present


• a selection of new essays and reprinted critical essays on Heart of Darkness, by Ian Watt, Linda Dryden, Ruth Nadelhaft, J. Hillis Miller and Peter Brooks, providing a range of perspectives on the novel and extending the coverage of key critical approaches identified in the survey section


• cross-references between sections of the guide, in order to suggest links between texts, contexts and criticism


• suggestions for further reading.

Part of the Routledge Guides to Literature series, this volume is essential reading for all those beginning detailed study of Heart of Darkness and seeking not only a guide to the novel, but a way through the wealth of contextual and critical material that surrounds Conrad”s text.