Nostromo: Introduction by Tony Tanner

Joseph Conrad’s foresight and his ability to distill human adventure from complex historical circumstances were so keen that his greatest novel, Nostromo—though more than a century old—says as much about Latin America as any recent account of that region’s turbulent political life.

Conrad’s story is set in the fictional Costaguana, a South American republic with a troubled history of tyranny and revolution. When wealthy businessman Charles Gould decides to use his valuable silver mine to su...