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This book is about the role of food in the works of Joseph Conrad, analysing the social, political and anthropological context of references to meals, eating, food production and cannibalism. It offers a new perspective on the works of Joseph Conrad and provides an accessible medium through which readers can engage with the complex theories and philosophical dilemmas that Conrad presents in his fiction. This is the only major study of food in Conrad's works; it is unique in its interdisciplinary approach to food in that it engages with sociological, political, historical, personal and literary perspectives, thus providing a multi-dimensional approach to cultural, revolutionary, periodical and fictional representations of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This in turn, allows an interrogation of modern anxieties, embedded in cultural norms and values that can be interpreted through the way that food is prepared and eaten.
List of contents
1. Introduction.- 2. Historical Context.- 3. Food as Cultural Narrative in Almayer's Folly.- 4. Cannibalism and 'Falk: A Reminiscence'.- 5. Anarchy, Vegetarianism and The Secret Agent.- 6. Bread and Liberty in Under Western Eyes.- 7. Conclusion.
About the author
Kim Salmons is Lecturer at St Mary’s University, UK. Other publications include Food in the Novels of Thomas Hardy: Production and Consumption. Kim Salmons has presented widely on the subject of food in modern literature and before entering academia, she was an assistant commissioning editor on the Arts desk of The Observer newspaper, where she wrote under the name of Kim Bunce.
Summary
This book is about the role of food in the works of Joseph Conrad, analysing the social, political and anthropological context of references to meals, eating, food production and cannibalism. It offers a new perspective on the works of Joseph Conrad and provides an accessible medium through which readers can engage with the complex theories and philosophical dilemmas that Conrad presents in his fiction. This is the only major study of food in Conrad’s works; it is unique in its interdisciplinary approach to food in that it engages with sociological, political, historical, personal and literary perspectives, thus providing a multi-dimensional approach to cultural, revolutionary, periodical and fictional representations of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This in turn, allows an interrogation of modern anxieties, embedded in cultural norms and values that can be interpreted through the way that food is prepared and eaten.
