
Heart of Darkness
- First published
- 1899
- Reading level
- Easy
- Price
- Free
About the book
"Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad is a novella published in 1899. Sailor Charles Marlow recounts his journey as a steamer captain for a Belgian company deep into the African interior. His assignment: to find Kurtz, an ivory trader who has mysteriously "gone native" at a remote station upriver. Conrad's tale explores European colonialism, power, and morality while questioning the boundary between civilization and savagery. The novella provides a dark meditation on imperialism, drawing unsettling parallels between London and Africa as places shrouded in darkness.
- Africa
- Europeans
- Trading posts
- Degeneration
- Imperialism
- Psychological fiction
Updated September 2026. Public domain in the USA. Text and summary from Project Gutenberg eBook #219. Heart of Darkness on Wikipedia.











