Nostromo: a Tale of the Seaboard

Joseph Conrad’s Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard is often regarded as author’s most ambitious work. The novel is set in the mining town of Sulaco, a port in the fictitious South American republic of Costaguana. The region has history of tyranny, revolution, and war, but more recently, the area has enjoyed newfound stability. Charles "don Carlos" Gould aims to promote this time of peace and prosperity by reopening his family’s silver mine in order to contribute to the local economy and, of course, personally profit. But as the political climate intensifies once again, Gould finds that he must pay off various armed revolutionaries in addition to government officials, bandits, and the church in order to stay in business. In this political commentary on imperialism, no character wins; all are dealt ironic fates. Originally published serially in two volumes of T.P.'s Weekly, Nostromo is ranked 47th on Modern Library’s “100 Best” English-language novels of the 20th century. In 1991, a film adaptation of Nostromo, starring Marlon Brando, among others, was to be produced by Steven Spielberg and directed by David Lean, but Lean died a few weeks before filming began. In 1996, a television adaptation of the novel was produced and aired on the BBC, Radiotelevisione Italiana, Televisión Española, and WGBH Boston. Nostromo has often been referenced in other works. Much of the story in Andrew M. Greeley's Virgin and Martyr (1985) is set in the fictional country of Costaguana — and many of the other place names in the work are borrowed from Nostromo as well. Perhaps more familiar: In Ridley Scott's 1979 science-fiction horror film, Alien, the spacecraft is named the Nostromo and in James Cameron's 1986 sequel, Aliens, the Marine transport vessel is named Sulaco.

Read More: Identifying first editions of Nostromo: a Tale of the Seaboard

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Philip Emery

Philip Emery

About Philip Emery

• About first editions
• What is a first edition?