This masterly character study of human transformation, written by Joseph Conrad (1857-1924) during the First World War, chronicles a youth's passage into manhood upon becoming the commander of his first ship. In this poignant tale of maturation, Conrad explores the initiation of this transitional occurrence and delivers a portrait of physical and psychic exile; sensory disorientation; and the final crossover toward a new identity. With realism born of firsthand knowledge of the seafaring life, Conrad delivers an intense evocation of his own first command aboard the ship Otago , which he took on when the previous captain died en route to Bangkok.