Joseph Conrad (1857-1924)

Chronology

1857

Jozef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski born December 3 in Berdichev (or vicinity) to Apollo Nalecz Korzeniowski and Evelina (Ewa) Bobrowska.

1862

May 8, Apollo Korzeniowski exiled to Vologda, Russia, accompanied by his wife and son.

1865

June 6, Conrad's mother dies. Conrad in care of maternal uncle, Tadeusz Bobrowski.

1869

Apollo Korzeniowski and son return to Cracow in February. Apollo dies on May 23. Conrad attends (sporadically) school in Cracow.

1873

In May leaves for a three-month-long stay in Switzerland and northern Italy. First view of the sea.

1874

On October 14 leaves Cracow for Marseilles.

1875

Apprentice on the Mont-Blanc, bound for Martinique.

1876-1877

From January to July in Marseilles; from July to February 1877 on schooner Saint-Antoine to West Indies.

1877

Acquires (with three other men) the tartane, the Tremolino which carries arms illegally to the supporters of Don Carlos, the Spanish pretender.

1878-1879

In February attempts suicide by shooting himself through the chest. On April 24 leaves Marseilles on British steamer Mavis. On June 18 sets foot in England at Lowestoft. Serves as ordinary seaman on coaster The Skimmer of the Sea.

1883

Passes mate's examination on July 4. Meets uncle Bobrowski at Marienbad. Mate on the sailing ship Riversdale.

1884 Second mate on the Narcissus, bound from Bombay to Dunkirk.

1885-1886

Second mate on the Tilkhurst; August 19, receives British certificate of naturalization. November 11, passes examination, receives his "Certificate of Competency as Master"; first story, "The Black Mate," submitted to Tit-Bits.

1887

First mate on Highland Forest. Hurt by a falling spar, hospitalized in Singapore (experience recalled in Lord Jim). Second mate on steamship Vidar (Singapore-Borneo).

1888

On Melita (bound for Bangkok), then his first command on the baroque the Otago (Bangkok-Sydney-Mauritius-Port Adelaide). Experiences described in The Shadow-Line, Victory, "The Secret Sharer," "A Smile of Fortune," and other works.

1889

Summer in London; begins writing Almayer's Folly.

1890

First trip to Poland since he left in 1874. In May he leaves for the Congo. Second in command, then in command of S. S. Roi de Belges.

1891-1893

First mate on Torrens. English passenger (Jacques) reads the first nine chapters of Almayer's Folly, offers encouragement; meets John Galsworthy aboard the ship. Visits uncle Bobrowski in Poland.

1893-1894

Second mate on Adowa (London-Rouen-London). Ends his career as seaman on January 14, 1894. Uncle Bobrowski dies on January 29, 1894. In April Conrad sends Almayer's Folly to T. Fisher Unwin.

1894-1895

Writes An Outcast of the Islands.

1896

Match 24, marries Jessie George.

1897

Completes The Nigger of the "Narcissus"; friendship with R. B. Cunninghame Graham.

1898

Son Alfred Borys born January 14. In October moves to Petit Farm, Kent.

1899

In February completes Heart of Darkness.

1900

Finishes Lord Jim.

1904

Nostromo. Writes The Mirror of the Sea. Wife ill, practically an invalid.

1905

Spends four months in Europe.

1906

Spends two months in France. Second son John Alexander born August 2.

1907

Children ill in France. Returns to Pent Farm in August. The Secret Agent.

1908

A Set of Six.

1910

In June moves to Capel House, Kent. Seriously ill.

1911

Under Western Eyes.

1912

'Twixt Land and Sea, Tales.

1913-1914

Chance. Writes Victory. Leaves for Poland in July 1914; meets Stefan Zeromski in Zakopane; caught by the war in August; escapes and returns to Capel House November 3.

1915

Victory. Within the Tides.

1916

Borys fights on the French front.

1917

The Shadow-Line. Writes prefaces for a new collected edition of his works.

1918

Borys, gassed and wounded, is hospitalized in Le Havre.

1919

The Arrow of Gold. Moves to Oswalds, Bishopbourne, near Canterbury, where he spends the last years of his life.

1920

The Rescue.

1921

Visits Corsica. Notes on Life and Utters.

1923

Visits New York (April-June). Reading from his Victory at home of Mrs. Arthur Curtiss James, May 10. The Secret Agent, Drama in Four Acts (adaptation of the novel). The Rover. Laughing Anne, a play (adaptation of "Because of the Dollars").

1924

Jacob Epstein does Conrad's bust. In May Conrad declines knighthood. Health deteriorates and he is bedridden. His wife is also ill. Both sons and Richard Curle are with them. Dies of heart attack August 3. Buried in Canterbury.

1925

Suspense (incomplete). Tales of Hearsay.

1926

Last Essays.

1928

The Sisters (written in 1896; incomplete.)

1936

Jessie Conrad dies December 6. Buried near her husband at Canterbury.

1978

Alfred Borys Conrad, the eider son of Conrad, dies on November 13.

This extract is taken from Adam Gillon, Joseph Conrad (Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1982)