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Conrad's Revision of Six of His Short Stories
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 December 2020
Extract
Some years ago Mr. T. J. Wise said that “Many of Conrad's books may, in fact, be studied profitably in three published states: (1) the serial state (England and America), (2) the partly-revised state from the serial (America), and (3) the finally-revised state (England).” He suggested that a collation of the texts of the magazines with those of the books “would yield very remarkable results.” I have attempted a collation of six of Conrad's short stories: (a) “An Outpost of Progress,” “The Lagoon,” and “Karain,” published with two other stories in Tales of Unrest (London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1898); and (b) “Youth,” “Heart of Darkness,” and “The End of the Tether,” published in Youth (Edinburgh: William Blackwood and Sons, 1902). This collation does not include the American serial and book texts. I have found only “Hearts of Darkness” published serially in America. Moreover Conrad paid little attention to his American editions. For example, of the first American edition of Tales of Unrest Conrad wrote: “Uncorrected by me. Probably differences of text from 1st English edon.” Of the first American edition of Youth Conrad wrote: “1st U.S. edition printed from unrevised proofs. Probably much nearer the Maga text than the 1st Eng. edition.” Mr. Richard Curie declares:
Conrad always regarded his English book-text as the one that mattered. He was not much concerned about perfecting his text for serial publication and not greatly concerned, even, if the American book-text was not his finally revised one.
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- Copyright
- Copyright © Modern Language Association of America, 1933
References
1 A Bibliography of the Writings of Joseph Conrad (1895-1920) (London: Richard Clay and Sons, 1920), p. x.
2 Notes by Joseph Conrad in a Set of his First Editions in the Possession of Richard Curle … (London: Privately Printed, 1925), p. 19.
3 Ibid., p. 22. Maga stands for Blackwood's Magazine.
4 Ibid., p. 16.
5 Tales of Unrest (New York: Doubleday, Page & Co., 1925), p. vii.
6 Leiters from Joseph Conrad, 1895–1924 (Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill Co., 1928), p. 18; G. Jean-Aubry, Joseph Conrad Life and Letters (New York: Doubleday, Page & Co., 1927), i, 193–194.
7 Letters from Conrad, pp. 88–95; G. Jean-Aubry, op. cit., p. 165.
8 vi, 609–620; vii, 1–15.
9 ii, 59–71.
10 CLXII, 63–656.—It was Conrad's first contribution to Blackwood's. The MS. of “Karain” was lost in the wreck of the Titanic (Notes by Joseph Conrad, p. 19).
11 Letters from Joseph Conrad, p. 62.
12 Letters from Conrad, p. 64.
13 Letters from Joseph Conrad, pp. 23–24, 91, 94–95.
14 Ibid., p. 42.
15 G. Jean-Aubry, op. cit., i, 193. This was written with reference to “An Outpost of Progress.”
16 CLXIV, 309–330.
17 CLXV, 193–220, 479–502, 634–657.
18 CLXXII, 1–20, 202–218, 395–408, 520–537, 685–702, 794–814.
19 This story was written after “Youth” and was finished by February 11, 1899 (Jean-Aubrey, op. cit., i, 271).
20 Seventh Series, vii-viii, June–July, 1900.—According to F. L. Mott, A History of American Magazines 1741–1850 (New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1930), p. 748, The Living Age paid nothing for contributions beyond the price of subscription to English periodicals.
21 It was written in 1902. He was engaged upon it in June (Letters from Conrad, p. 180). He had to rewrite it, for the MS. was burnt when completed (p. 181). Upon finishing an instalment he describes his state as one of “frenetic idiocy,” in a letter dated October 17, 1902 (p. 182).
22 He said, “Give me the right word and the right accent and I will move the world” (A Personal Record, p. xiv).
23 A Personal Record, pp. vii–viii; and see p. 136. On the other hand, A. P. Coleman finds traces of Polish idiom in Conrad (“Polonisms in the English of Conrad's Chance,” Modern Language Notes, xlvi, 463–468. But G. Morf praises Conrad's perfect command of English (The Polish Heritage of Joseph Conrad, pp. 204–208).