The Art of Failure: Conrad's Fiction

Originally published in 1986, this is a powerful and original book. It offers textual interpretation of Conrad’s major work and articulates the subtlety and richness of his treatment of social-political institutions and of the forces that complicate and distort private and public life.

Suresh Raval argues that the social-personal relations in Conrad’s fiction cannot be conceived apart from their existence in the political life of a community; but at the same time they cannot be accommodated ...