This book examines the philosophy of history and the subject of the nation in the literature of Joseph Conrad. It explores the importance of nineteenth-century Polish Romantic philosophy in Conrad's literary development, arguing that the Polish response to Hegelian traditions of historiography in nineteenth-century Europe influenced Conrad's interpretation of history. After investigating Conrad's early career in the context of the philosophy of history, the book analyses Nostromo (1904), The Secret Agent (1907), and Under Western Eyes (1911) in light of Conrad's...

- The first English book edition of the novel (1907), accompanied by explanatory footnotes - Four illustrations - Contemporary sources that informed Conrad's writing of the novel, including newspaper accounts of the "Greenwich Bomb Outrage," articles from the anarchist press, earlier fictional treatments of the Martial Bourdin case (the inspiration fo Adolph Verloc), and important texts related to anarchism and fin-de-siecle culture - Seven wide-ranging critical essays by Ian Watt, Terry Eagleton, Martin Ray, Hugh Epstein, Gail Fincham, Peter Lancelot Mallios, and Michael Newton - A...