Chance : A Tale in Two Parts

First published in 1914, Joseph Conrad's female-centred, uncharacteristically optimistic Chance represented a new departure in his writings. This edition is the first-ever authoritative text, free from the interference of typists, compositors and editors, and featuring a thorough introduction and detailed textual essay.

Published in 1914, Joseph Conrad's Chance, with its female protagonist, Flora de Barral, and happy ending, represented a new departure in his writings. Aided by the robust advertising efforts of his American publisher, Doubleday, Page, Chance was also his first major financial success. This comprehensive critical edition includes an introduction to the novel's origins and sources, while explanatory notes detail literary and historical references, identify real-life places and people, and indicate borrowings and Gallicisms. A textual essay and its accompanying apparatus lay out the history of composition and publication, detailing interventions made by Conrad's typists, compositors, and editors. Also included are appendices, a glossary of nautical terms, a genealogy of the text, and reproductions of early drafts. By returning to (and respecting) Conrad's early manuscript and typescript states, this edition presents Chance and its preface in a form more authoritative than any so far printed.