Heart of Darkness (1899) is a
novella by
Polish-British novelist
Joseph Conrad, about a voyage up the
Congo River into the
Congo Free State, in the heart of
Africa, by the story's narrator Marlow. Marlow tells his story to friends aboard a boat anchored on the
River Thames, London, England. This setting provides the
frame for Marlow's story of his obsession with the ivory trader
Kurtz, which enables Conrad to create a parallel between London and Africa as places of darkness.