Typhon

Joseph Conrad had just finished Lord Jim when he recalled a tragic anecdote: a terrifying cyclone striking a ship in the China Sea. From this he drew this novel, whose protagonists are a captain and his first mate, tasked with repatriating two hundred Chinese coolies, the Asian laborers who then provided cheap labor.

The entire action — remarkably translated by André Gide — unfolds over a few hours, at the height of the storm. Gide had met Conrad in England in 1911, through Henry Davray, one of the collaborators at the Mercure de France. Numerous meetings took place at Orlestone, at the Conrads’ manor house, during which Gide worked to “repatriate” the writer to the NRF. This was accomplished in 1918: all of Conrad’s future work would appear there, in original translation from the prestigious house, except L’Aventure, which would be published by Kra in 1926. Gide retained a very particular friendship for Conrad, attested by the short tribute, soberly titled Conrad, which he published with Pierre Aelberts in 1927.

A fine copy.