Heart of Darkness

Joseph Conrad was born with the name Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski on 3 December 1857 in Berdychiv Ukraine, to Polish parents. Conrad’s parents, Apollo and Evelina Korzeniowski, were of the Polish nobility, and were Polish patriots. Apollo and Evelina were involved in a patriotic conspiracy against Russian rule of Poland, were identified by Russian forces, arrested and sent to live in the Russian province of Vologda with their son Joseph, then four years old. Conrad’s parents died several years later. The orphaned Joseph was raised in Poland by an uncle. Conrad then pursued a career at sea in the French and British merchant navies, and later pursued a writing career. Conrad settled in England where he died on 3 August 1924.