Overview

"""Woe to the man whose heart has not learned while young to hope, to love--and to put its trust in life!"" In an effort to avoid heartbreak and suffering, Axel Heyst has closed off his heart to the world. Raised by a single father, a philosopher with an exceedingly pessimistic view of humanity, there was little hope for Axel the dreamer to turn out otherwise. Upon the death of his father, Axel leaves his home in England to wander the world with no path. Eventually he joins a coal company's expedition to a remote island in the Malay Archipelago--the setting of Conrad's Lord Jim--and on this journey he feels his heart begin to stir. He connects with the captain of the ship, empathizes with the poor man's plight, and even financially invests in the expedition. Sadly, his re-entrance into the world of human emotions is cut short when the enterprise fails and the captain dies, so Axel closes himself off once more. Axel does not return to England after this failure, but instead stays on the island to live the life of a hermit. But when he meets Lena, a mistreated English musician playing in an all-female orchestra, Axel jumps at the chance to save her from her misfortune. Together they escape to his island refuge. Now presumed safe from her abusers, it falls to Lena to try and save Axel from the isolation and depression that have taken over his life. One of Joseph Conrad's most complex and psychological novels, Victory is a tale of thrilling adventure and a sensitive study of human relationships and the power of love."

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"""I have never started a novel...without rereading Victory. It opens up the possibilities of a novel. It makes it seem worth doing."" -- ""Joan Didion, Paris Review"" ""Whatever you do, read Conrad's latest--Victory. Read it, if you have to pawn your watch to buy it. Conrad has exceeded himself...I am glad that I am alive, if, for no other reason, because of the joy of reading this book."" -- ""Jack London, 1915"""

Author Information

Joseph Conrad (J�zef Teodor Konrad Nalecz Korzeniowski) (1857-1924) was born in Ukraine. Raised by an uncle after the death of his parents, he educated himself by reading widely in Polish and French. At age twenty-one he began a long career sailing the seas on French merchant vessels, after which he went to London and began writing, using the romance and adventure of his own life for his incomparable sea novels. Stefan Rudnicki first became involved with audiobooks in 1994. Now a Grammy-winning audiobook producer, he has worked on more than five thousand audiobooks as a narrator, writer, producer, or director. He has narrated more than nine hundred audiobooks. A recipient of multiple AudioFile Earphones Awards, he was presented the coveted Audie Award for solo narration in 2005, 2007, and 2014, and was named one of AudioFile's Golden Voices in 2012.

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