Author Joseph Conrad, 1857-1924, who wrote Heart of Darkness, Lord Jim(1900).
Why would you find a plaque to Joseph Conrad in Singapore? He features Singapore in his short story, The End of the Tether in 1902, as well as using Singapore in other stories. As the plaque says, Singapore was his home port. he would have had to register at the post office which is now the landmark Fullerton Hotel.
Singapore flag.
Singapore was and still is an important port and stopping place for ships to re-load goods and fuel, crew and passengers. Conrad spent a lot of time aboard ships and went from one country to another.
I was visiting the historic hotel in Singapore by the museum and river when I came across a plaque to Joseph Conrad. He was a most remarkable man. He grew up surrounded by the patriotic Polish people and language in places which were under Russian rule, in what is now Poland, in cities such as Krakow (now Poland) and Lvov (now in the west of Ukraine on the border).
He lived in many countries, first France, and finally including England where he became British and managed to extricate himself from Russian citizenship. He later had chosen to avoid countries such as Russia and France where he would have been forced to serve in the military.
He had lost his parents (who both had tuberculosis) when he was a 12 year old child. Later in life he attempted suicide.
He wrote best sellers in English, which was not his first language. It was his third language after Polish and French.
Like many authors, he lad a life more dramatic and incredible than his plots and books. He met other famous authors and was the model for the character in another author's book.
He spent about ten years at sea, working his way up through the ranks.
I took a photo in Singapore at the time I first saw his monument and again, which has unfortunately disappeared into my stored photos on a disc somewhere. Never mind, you can easily find photos of his monuments including the memorial in Singapore in Wikipedia and on the web.
I had copies of his books but looked up the plots in Wikipedia. I like that about Wikipedia. In review sites you don't get a through analysis of a book because they are to anxious not to reveal the plot twists and ending. Wikipedia gives you plots, characters, films made of the book, enough of the author's life to see what inspired him, and separately the author's life and quotations.
Conrad's grave at Canterbury Cemetery, near Harbledown, Kent.
Conrad's grave in England.
As Jonson famously said, 'Worth seeing but not worth going to see'.
Useful Websites
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Conrad
https://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/Attraction_Review-g294265-d11824838-Reviews-Joseph_Conrad_Korzeniowski-Singapore.html
About The Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker. Please bookmark and share links to your favourite posts.
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