E-Books →A Political Genealogy of Joseph Conrad

Despite the extraordinary thematic and tonal range of his work, critics have imposed a stable political perspective on his fiction-most often an organic conservatism, influenced by his Polish background. This is understandable; until recently, a critic's role has been to impose order on an artist's creations.
The approach in this book is different. Drawing on the work of Michel Foucault and Jean-Francois Lyotard, especially on the latter's critique of what he called "the grand narrative," A Political Genealogy of Joseph Conrad shows how Conrad's politics were always radically contingent on audience, contemporary events, and, especially, genre. While the political perspective in each of his stories and novels may be more-or-less coherent and consistent, there is no consistency throughout his work.
A Political Genealogy of Joseph Conrad is the first book devoted exclusively to Conrad's politics since the 1960s.