Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- List of Maps
- Note on Geographical Names
- Genealogies
- Chronology
- Conrad’s Sea Voyages
- Joseph Conrad A Life
- I In the Shadow of Alien Ghosts: 1857–1874
- II In Marseilles: 1874–1878
- III The Red Ensign: 1878–1886
- IV Master in the British Merchant Marine: 1886–1890
- V To the End of the Night: 1890
- VI The Sail and the Pen: 1891–1894
- VII Work and Romance: 1894–1896
- VIII Strivings, Experiments, Doubts: 1896–1898
- IX Ford, The Pent, and Jim: 1898–1900
- X Difficult Maturity: 1900–1904
- XI Uphill: 1904–1909
- XII Crisis and Success: 1910–1914
- XIII Journey to Poland: 1914
- XIV The War and the Memories: 1914–1919
- XV Hope and Resignation: 1919–1924
- Epilogue
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Bibliographical Note
- Index of Names
- Index of Subjects
- Illustration Credits
- Plate section
IX - Ford, The Pent, and Jim: 1898–1900
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 March 2023
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- List of Maps
- Note on Geographical Names
- Genealogies
- Chronology
- Conrad’s Sea Voyages
- Joseph Conrad A Life
- I In the Shadow of Alien Ghosts: 1857–1874
- II In Marseilles: 1874–1878
- III The Red Ensign: 1878–1886
- IV Master in the British Merchant Marine: 1886–1890
- V To the End of the Night: 1890
- VI The Sail and the Pen: 1891–1894
- VII Work and Romance: 1894–1896
- VIII Strivings, Experiments, Doubts: 1896–1898
- IX Ford, The Pent, and Jim: 1898–1900
- X Difficult Maturity: 1900–1904
- XI Uphill: 1904–1909
- XII Crisis and Success: 1910–1914
- XIII Journey to Poland: 1914
- XIV The War and the Memories: 1914–1919
- XV Hope and Resignation: 1919–1924
- Epilogue
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Bibliographical Note
- Index of Names
- Index of Subjects
- Illustration Credits
- Plate section
Summary
Conrad Met Ford Madox Hueffer in the first days of September 1898, while visiting the Garnetts at The Cearne. Hueffer, who at the time occupied himself with gardening, lived next door.
Conrad came round the corner of the house. I was doing something at the open fireplace in the house-end. He was in advance of Mr Garnett who had gone inside, I suppose, to find me. Conrad stood looking at the view. His hands were in the pockets of his reefer-coat, the thumbs sticking out. His black, torpedo beard pointed at the horizon. He placed a monocle in his eye. Then he caught sight of me.
I was very untidy, in my working clothes. He started back a little. I said:
“I’m Hueffer.” He had taken me for the gardener.
His whole being melted together in enormous politeness. His spine inclined forward; he extended both hands to take mine. He said:
“My dear faller … Delighted … Ench … anté!”
The direct result of their meeting was the plan for the Conrads to sublet The Pent from the Hueffers. Immediately on his return from Glasgow, Conrad wrote to his new friend to confirm the decision: “This opportunity is a perfect godsend to me.” The arrangement was quickly concluded; meanwhile the two men devised a more daring and incomparably more momentous scheme: they decided to embark on a literary collaboration.
Ford Hermann Hueffer was born on 17 December 1873 at Merton, Surrey. His father, Franz Hüffer, had emigrated from Germany to England four years before and changed his name to Francis Hueffer; he was a distinguished musicologist and music critic for The Times. Ford’s mother, Catherine, was the daughter of the well-known Pre-Raphaelite painter Ford Madox Brown.
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- Joseph ConradA Life, pp. 272 - 305Publisher: Boydell & BrewerPrint publication year: 2007