The Nigger of the Narcissus

James Wait is an Afro-Caribbean sailor in Bombay who enlists on the Narcissus, a trading ship bound for London. His deteriorating health soon becomes a problem for the crew, whose attention is focused on the perils of their strenuous sea voyage. The forecastle, which contains the crew's living quarters, becomes the narrative's focal point.

The Nigger of the Narcissus, Joseph Conrad's third novel, was serialized in 1897 and published as a book in the same year. Due to its controversial title,...