Chance

First published in 1913, this novel is narrated largely by Marlow and by the young officer Powell. It concerns Flora de Barral, daughter of a financier ruined and imprisoned after a crash, who is left dependent and gossiped about. After a harsh spell as a governess, she marries Captain Anthony, brother of the feminist Mrs Fyne, and sails on his ship the Ferndale. The voyage brings together Flora, the captain, Powell, and, later, her released father, whose jealousy and sense of injury threaten the marriage. The book is a study of chance, rumour, and a young woman's vulnerability among people who interpret her rather than help her.

Bound in dark blue cloth blocked with a silver design. Blue slipcase with Conrad's signature in silver.