This is the first major study to bring together for examination all of Conrad's Malay fiction: the early novels, Almayer's Folly , An Outcast of the Islands , and Lord Jim ; the two later novels, Victory and The Rescue ; and various short stories, such as The Lagoon and Karain . The volume focuses on cross-cultural encounters, cultural identity and cultural dislocation, paying particular attention to issues of race and gender. He also situates Conrad's fiction in relation to earlier English accounts of South-East Asia.Acknowledgements Introduction Problems of Historiography The Advancement of Learning The Inward Turn: Wallace and Clifford Cultural Diversity and Originary Identity: Almayer's Folly and An Outcast of the Islands Encountering the Other: Race and Gender in 'The Lagoon' and 'Karain' Speech and Writing in Lord Jim Absence and Presence in Victory Dialogue and Cross-dressing in The Rescue Homecoming Notes Index
'Hampson's analysis of Conrad's five novels and two short stories set in the nineteenth-century Malay world is of an intimidatingly wide scope and impressive depth...[A] highly erudite and original literary critique for advanced students of Conrad's oeuvre, cultural studies, and English Literature.' - Carool Kersten
Robert Hampson is Reader of English Literature at Royal Halloway, University of London.