Joseph Conrad · 1900 · sea

Joseph Conrad's 1900 novel follows a young British seaman who abandons a sinking pilgrim ship in a moment of panic, then wanders the Eastern seas in search of redemption. The route runs from the Patna's voyage toward the Red Sea, through the ports of his disgrace, to the remote river settlement of Patusan.

1. 1
   Singapore

   The Patna steams out of an Eastern port bound for the Red Sea and Mecca, her decks crowded with eight hundred pilgrims and Jim, her young first mate, dreaming of heroism.

2. 2
   Aden

   One night the ship strikes a derelict and, believing her doomed, the officers abandon the sleeping pilgrims; the Patna is towed into Aden, and the scandal breaks.

3. 3
   Bombay

   At the court of inquiry Jim alone stays to face judgment, and is stripped of his certificate, his one act of cowardice fixed to his name forever.

4. 4
   Bangkok

   Disgraced, he drifts from one Eastern port to the next, a fine worker who always moves on the moment his past is spoken aloud.

5. 5
   Patusan

   On a remote Malay river Stein sends him to Patusan, where Jim earns a people's trust, becomes Tuan Jim, and at last meets a fate of his own choosing.