Joseph Conrad was a Polish author who wrote in English after settling in England. He was granted British nationality in 1886, but always considered himself a Pole.
Conrad is regarded as one of the greatest novelists in English, though he did not speak the language fluently until he was in his twenties (and always with an accent). He wrote stories and novels, often with nautical settings, which depict trials of the human spirit in the midst of an indifferent universe. He was a master prose stylist who brought a distinctly non-English sensibility into English literature.
Below is a trailer for the film The Secret Agent based on his book of the same name:
]]>
The theme for this week is about Jane Austen, an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the privileged British social class who lived entirely off rental income (landed gentry), earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature. Her realism, biting irony and social commentary as well as her acclaimed plots have gained her historical importance among scholars and critics.
Austen lived her entire life as part of a close-knit family located on the lower fringes of the English landed gentry. She was educated primarily by her father and older brothers as well as through her own reading. The steadfast support of her family was critical to her development as a professional writer.
Enjoy two film trailers adapted from Austen’s most popular novels, Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice.
Sense and Sensibility:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ns17RQr1yK8
Pride and Prejudice:
]]>