This novel, Tales Of Hearsay is written by Joseph Conrad. Conrad reflects on his native Poland and Russia in "The Warrior's Soul" and "Prince Roman," the first two stories in this collection. But he does so in a very different way. His grandfather's life is being examined, not his own early years. He takes readers on a trip back in time, almost nostalgically, first to the 1830–1831 Cadet Revolution against Russia and then to Napoleon's retreat from Moscow. Although the
stories don't have the psychological depth of his best work, they are nevertheless perceptive in that regard. Another element is in play while we read them as well. In effect, we have a perspective comparable to that of standing between two mirrors and seeing many reflections of existence as we look back on Conrad's writings, which also have a nostalgic quality. It turns out that the third story, "The Tale," is not that. It is a confession that reveals the inner guilt that a naval captain felt after carrying out a vengeful act during hostilities. The final tale, "The Black Mate," is about overcoming the otherworldly via cunning. Just a few paragraphs later, its almost whimsically ironic conclusion is reversed into a warning against self-possession.
Joseph Conrad was a Polish-born English novelist, considered as one of the prominent novelists to write in the English language. He was born on 3 December 1857. Though he did not speak English fluently until his twenties, he came to be considered a master prose stylist who guide a non-English sensibility into English literature. He was assigned British nationality in 1886 but always regarded himself a Pole. He enrolled the French Merchant Marine and began to work on British ships, learning English from his shipmates. He was made a master mariner and worked more than sixteen years before an event motivated him to try his hand at writing. He wrote stories and novels, many with a nautical setting, that represents trials of the human spirit in the middle of an unexpressive, transparent universe. During his lifetime Conrad was praised for the assets of his prose and his offerings of dangerous life at sea and in foreign places. His works include the novels Almayer's Folly (1895), Lord Jim (1900), Nostromo (1904), and The Secret Agent (1907) and the short story 'Heart of Darkness ' (1902). He died in August 1924.
