Before becoming a novelist, Conrad lived an adventurous life at sea. He later fictionalized many of his experiences in novels that combine realism and high drama. Though he knew little English before he was 20, Conrad became one of the greatest novelists and prose stylists in English literature. Marked by a distinctive, rich prose, many of his novels are considered masterpieces, but he is perhaps best known for the novella Heart of Darkness. What were some of Conrad’s real-life escapades? Discuss