Of the four tales in this volume, "Typhoon," a story of a steamship and her crew beset by tempest, is a masterpiece of descriptive virtuosity and moral irony, while "The Secret Sharer", which tells of a young captain's divisive allegiance to a fugitive from justice on his first command, excels in symbolic ambiguity. Both stories present vividly Conrad's abiding preoccupation with the theme of beleaguered solidarity -- a solidarity challenged from without by the elements and from within by human doubts and fears.

Conrad's experiences as a captain of the ship Otago in 1888 provided material for both "The Secret Sharer" and "Falk". The latter tale refers to starvation, killing, and cannibalism, yet emerges as a remarkably urbane blend of ironic comedy and muted myth. "Amy Foster", written in 1901, is bleak and stark in its depiction of human isolation and incomprehension; it is a thematic nexus in Conrad's work.

In a range of tones extending from the sombre to the radiant, Conrad's central preoccupations are displayed at their best, strangest, and most plangent in this selection of stories.

Contents:

• Typhoon
• Falk
• Amy Foster
• The Secret Sharer