'Sailing away, he survived at sea, then on foreign land, and then by writing - re-living his life, many times, many ways, in English fiction' Neil Rennie, from his preface to The Secret Sharer and Other Stories

The stories in this selection show the intense influence of Conrad's many voyages and his varied reading. He was able to dramatize his personal international experiences as he journeyed from Europe to Africa and the East, while absorbing the influence of Stevenson's adventure romances, and the realism of Flaubert and Maupassant.

'An Outpost of Progress' is a response to what Conrad witnessed in the Congo; 'Youth' turns to his early days at sea; 'Amy Foster' explores the strangeness and hostility of England to foreigners; 'The Secret Sharer' charts his time as a ship's captain; 'A Smile of Fortune' returns to the island of Mauritius; and 'The Planter of Malata' opens in a great colonial city in Australia.

Neil Rennie's preface examines the interweaving of Conrad's life and work, and the development of his art.