Heart of Darkness and the Secret Sharer

In this pair of literary voyages into the inner self, Joseph Conrad has written two of the most chilling, disturbing, and noteworthy pieces of fiction of the twentieth century.

Heart of Darkness is a devastating commentary on the corruptibility of humanity. Based on Conrad’s own 1890 trip up the Congo River, the story is told by Marlow, the novelist’s alter ego. It is a journey into darkness and horror—both literally, as the narrator descends into a sinister jungle landscape, and metaphor...