Heart of Darkness, D. C. R. A. Goonetilleke (ed.) The Conradian (U.K.): Reviews, Vol. 47, No. 2 Volume available at Sarasavi Bookshop, Nugegoda.
Now in its third iteration, D.C.R.A. Goonetilleke’s excellent Broadview edition of Heart of Darkness is provided with a new preface and introduction and includes fresh accompanying contextual documents that respond to a range of recent criticism and scholarship, from David van Reybrouck to Maya Jasanoff, preserving the comprehensive qualities of the previous two editions while positioning the text in relation to current critical debates on globalisation, race, history, and empire.
In addition to the text of Conrad’s celebrated and controversial novella, which is supplemented with an appendix of textual variants across major editions, Goonetilleke offers a rich range of contemporary reviews, samples from Conrad’s correspondence and essays, and a wealth of political and cultural texts relating to empire, geography, politics, and Conrad’s literary influences.
Diverse viewpoints
The section on Congo in particular provides a diverse range of African, American, and European viewpoints from the late 19th and early 20th centuries on the Scramble for Africa and its subsequent pillage and exploitation, with passages from the autobiography of the Congolese Disasi Makulo (c. 1871-1941) giving a significant distinctive voice to the often-inarticulate Africa found in Conrad’s work.
After selections from the work of Henry Morton Stanley and a representative range of British perspectives on race and imperialism, Goonetilleke also offers contemporary political material from both Conrad’s circle (figures such as R. B. Cunninghame Graham) and from the British press, such as pieces on Africa and the Congo from The Times and Century Magazine, that informed his artistic process while writing Heart of Darkness.
Images of Africa
The later sections of the edition reproduce images of Africa taken by 19th century figures such as the Belgian traveller Alexandre Delcommune and the British missionary and photographer Alice Seeley Harris, providing graphic documentary evidence of the people, landscape, and culture of the Congo in the 19th century and the horrific punitive practices of the European coloniser.
Surrounded by such difficult yet unavoidable material, Goonetilleke’s edition reinforces the moral centrality of Conrad’s work in light of the troublingly violent historical reality out of which it emerged.
Clearly laid out, highly astute in its selections, very handsomely presented, and up to date, this edition offers a superb entry point for readers of all kinds to Conrad’s most enduring and challenging work.
The writer is attached to Imperial College, University of London.