First Edition, First Printing. [McBride] Preceding the English Edition. 8vo, pp. [1-8] [1-2] 3-404 [405: colophon] [406-408: blank] title page printed in red and black, original dark blue cloth, front and spine panels stamped in gold. Bindings tight and square. Text clean, light even toning. Moderate handling wear. Older clear tape reinforcement to hinges. Name stamp of previous owner. -------- Conrad began this novel in 1896 but was dissatisfied and set it aside for over twenty years; becoming the last major work of fiction published by Conrad. This book is included in the 'Lingard Trilogy', a group of novels based on Conrad's experience as mate on the steamer Vidar. The story follows Captain Tom Lingard, the recurring protagonist of The Lingard Trilogy, who was on his way to help a native friend regain his land when he falls in love with a married woman whose yacht he saves from foundering. Though printed long after Almayer's Folly (1895) and An Outcast of the Islands (1896), the events related in the novel precede those. --- REF: Cagle A49a. Wise 55; Allen 187; Knowles xvii