Set in the fictional South American republic of Costaguana, Nostromo is Conrad’s great novel of silver, revolution, reputation, foreign capital, and moral decay.

At its centre is the San Tomé mine, a source of wealth so powerful it bends politics, loyalty, and friendship around itself. Nostromo, the apparently incorruptible man of action, is drawn into protecting the mine’s silver during a rebellion, only to find that heroism and ownership are not as cleanly separated as anyone would like.

A slow, intricate novel about how people become useful to power, then trapped by the part of themselves power decides to reward. For readers of Heart of Darkness who want the wider system, not just the fever dream in the jungle.

Penguin Modern Classics paperback. First published 1904; this Penguin edition first published 1963, with this copy a later reprint from the number line shown. Cover has edge wear, creasing, rubbing, and an old price sticker to front. Pages are age-toned but appear clean. Good reading copy.