'First published in 1906, The Mirror of the Sea was the first of Joseph Conrad's two autobiographical memoirs. Discussing it, he called the book "a very intimate revelation. . . . I have attempted here to lay bare with the unreserve of a last hour's confession the terms of my relation with the sea, which beginning mysteriously, like any great passion the inscrutable Gods send to mortals, went on unreasoning and invincible, surviving the test of disillusion, defying the disenchantment that lurks in every day of a strenuous life; went on full of love's delight and love's anguish, facing them in open-eyed exultation without bitterness and without repining, from the first hour to the last."' (Publication summary)
'This essay recounts Joseph Conrad’s voyage up the east-coast of Australia in 1888, an event which I term the author’s ‘Endeavour re-enactment’. It describes the author’s relationship to Captain James Cook, and the implications of his visit for Australian history.' (Publication abstract)
'This essay recounts Joseph Conrad’s voyage up the east-coast of Australia in 1888, an event which I term the author’s ‘Endeavour re-enactment’. It describes the author’s relationship to Captain James Cook, and the implications of his visit for Australian history.' (Publication abstract)
