The Collected Letters of Joseph Conrad: Volume 4 (The Cambridge Edition of the Letters of Joseph Conrad)

This is the fourth of the eight volumes of a widely acclaimed edition comprising all the surviving letters of Joseph Conrad. It covers the period during which he wrote Under Western Eyes, and the mental and physical breakdown that followed the novel's completion. The tale of these years emerges vividly from the correspondence. Of special interest are frank critiques of John Galsworthy's work, an indignant falling out with Ford Madox Ford, revealing accounts of his writing in progress, and reactions to the tumultuous politics of the day.

"The scholarly wealth and care of this edition, the clarity of lay-out and secondary material are beyond praise. This represents the archival energy of American scholarship at its finest." George Steiner, The Sunday Times

"These letters are impeccably edited and presented...To anyone interested in the history of fiction writing or the emergence of modernism, they are indispensable." Tony Tanner, The Times Higher Education Supplement

"One of the advantages of this new collection -- besides that of providing accurate texts of unpublished correspondence and of the many letters that have long been available in unreliable editions -- is that it enables us to appreciate the extent to which some of Conrad's letters are themselves part of his achievement at a prose writer." Louis Menand, The New York Times Book Review

"The editorial format of this volume stands as a model for such publications. Not only does it display meticulous scholarship; it also anticipates many of the problems that commonly confront readers." Welford D. Taylor, Richmond News Leader