Lord Jim (1900) is a novel by Joseph Conrad about a young English sailor who, in a moment of panic, abandons a ship full of pilgrims and spends the rest of his life trying to redeem himself. It is narrated largely by Marlow.
The story
Jim, a parson's son who dreamed of heroism at sea, is first mate of the Patna, an old steamer carrying eight hundred pilgrims across the Indian Ocean. When the ship seems about to sink, he jumps into the lifeboat with the officers, leaving the passengers behind.
The Patna does not sink, and Jim alone faces the inquiry. Helped by Marlow, he finally finds refuge in Patusan, a remote place in the Malay world, where he wins the trust of the people, who call him Tuan Jim, Lord Jim. A final betrayal puts his honour to the test.
Writing
Conrad began Lord Jim as a short story but it grew into a long novel, serialised in Blackwood's Magazine from 1899 to 1900. It was inspired in part by the real case of the Jeddah, a ship abandoned by her officers with pilgrims aboard in 1880.
The story is told through Marlow's conversations, documents and the testimony of others, with many shifts in time, which made it a model of modern narrative.
Reception
The novel established Conrad's reputation. Some readers complained that it was hard to follow, but others saw in it a deep study of honour, guilt and illusion.
It was filmed twice, as a silent film in 1925 and by Richard Brooks in 1965, with Peter O'Toole as Jim.
Anecdotes
The real Patna
In 1880 the steamer Jeddah, carrying some nine hundred pilgrims to Jeddah, was abandoned by her officers off Aden. The crew reported that she had sunk, but she was towed into port, and the scandal was widely reported.
Marlow again
Marlow, who tells Heart of Darkness, is also the main narrator of Lord Jim. Conrad used him in four works.
Frequently asked questions
What does Jim do wrong?
As first mate of the Patna, he jumps from the ship he believes to be sinking, abandoning hundreds of pilgrims. The ship stays afloat.
Where is Patusan?
An imaginary place in the Malay world, perhaps inspired by parts of Borneo and Sumatra that Conrad knew as a sailor.
Why is he called Lord Jim?
The people of Patusan call him Tuan Jim, tuan meaning 'lord' or 'master' in Malay.