Lord Jim

Joseph Conrad, 1900

Adventure

A seaman's damaged reputation becomes the centre of a narrative about courage, judgment and the wish to begin again.

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Listen free: the LibriVox audiobook, read by Peter Dann. Press Listen in the reader to hear each chapter as you read.

Length: 45 chapters
Reading time: About 9 hr
Words: 128,432

About the book

Jim is introduced through his appearance and his work in Eastern ports, a conspicuously capable young man whose movements suggest something unsettled. The account asks readers to look beyond his outward assurance towards a history that needs explaining.

Conrad's narrative does not treat character as a fact that can be announced once and accepted. Stories and observations accumulate around Jim, making the effort to understand him part of the subject. His ambitions raise difficult questions about how imagined heroism relates to conduct under pressure.

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Adventure

This edition

Text from Standard Ebooks, who proofread and typeset it and dedicate their edition to the public domain. Joseph Conrad died more than 70 years ago, so the work is out of copyright in the UK. Includes the original author’s note.