Youth Classics

Marlow—the narrator of Lord Jim and Heart of Darkness—tells the story of his first voyage to the exotic, romantic East, as a 20-year-old second officer of the ancient barque Judea. It is a story of almost comical disaster—and of the resilience of youthful hope and enthusiasm.

In these two magnificent novellas Conrad explores the question of self-discovery through powerful and exciting narratives: in Youth, the experienced seaman Marlow tells the story of a young man's coming of age on his first voyage to the East, while in Heart of Darkness he describes with terrifying depth and vividness the slide into corruption of an idealistic trader.

What if a single gust of wind could stir up every memory you’ve tried to outrun? In The Wind Blows by Katherine Mansfield, you follow Matilda, a young girl swept through her day by a restless force she can’t quite name.

Blending fact and fiction, this trilogy by a very young Tolstoy centres on the inner life of Nikolai as he navigates the universal challenge of growing up. In relating his thoughts and feelings, his self-awareness and embarrassing mistakes, the work is timeless: regardless of era, location and environment, we are given an unvarnished portrait of one boy—both self-important and self-deprecating—as he tries to find his place in the world. The sense of nostalgia, with its strange blend of sadness and solace, is tangible as the years pass and the child becomes a young man.

Marlowe tells a tale of his youth before he ventured into the heart of darkness. After several false starts, he signs as second officer on a trading ship to Bangkok. Before their final disembarkation, he discovers that all the rats are abandoning ship before they had even left the dockyard. It isn't until Marlowe and his crew are halfway to Singapore that they discover the horror the rats have left behind.

Youth, although written over a century ago, is just as relevant to humans today and I believe for all time. Here Conrad addresses the dimming of our mortal light, that subtle realization in all of us that we are no longer as vital as we once were. That mark in time when we acknowledge to ourselves that we are aging, growing old, dying.

Step into the imaginative world of Youth by Isaac Asimov, a timeless science fiction story that explores innocence, discovery, and the wonder of the unknown. Set in a serene countryside, the tale follows two boys whose curiosity leads them to a remarkable discovery—alien creatures with a story of their own. As the boys navigate this extraordinary find, Asimov weaves a narrative filled with surprises, highlighting themes of exploration, friendship, and the intersection of humanity and the universe.

Misfit Youths Find a Champion is a classic tale of values and romance turned squarely on its head. Jerry Walker is cruising through life in what appears to be a fairytale marriage complemented by an illustrious Major League Baseball career. Then without warning, his world comes crashing down, leaving him reeling in disillusionment and despair.

These two famous stories by Joseph Conrad are both told by the same narrator - Marlow. As the main character in Youth, Marlow tells the story of his first voyage to the East as second mate on board the Judea. Heart of Darkness features Marlow 22 years later and deals with maturity and old age. This highly symbolic story follows Marlow as he recounts his adventure into the Congo to a group of men aboard a ship anchored in the Thames Estuary.

"Youth" is an autobiographical short story by Joseph Conrad. It was written in 1898, first published in Blackwood's Magazine, and included as the first story in the 1902 volume "Youth, a Narrative, and Two Other Stories". The volume also included "Heart of Darkness" and "The End of the Tether", which are concerned with maturity and old age, respectively. "Youth" depicts a young man's first journey to the East.

These stories are a unique, early study of celebrity and the vast emotional and social divisions of class and power that still exist today. Each story introduces a woman of power and the men who struggle to define them and thus themselves.

These short stories, "Coming, Aphrodite!", "The Diamond Mine", "The Gold Slipper", and "Scandal", all revolve around the lives of prima donnas.

"Youth" was not my first contribution to Maga. It was the second. But that story marks the first appearance in the world of the man Marlow, with whom my relations have grown very intimate in the course of years. The origins of that gentleman (nobody as far as I know had ever hinted that he was anything but that) - his origins have been the subject of some literary speculation of, I am glad to say, a friendly nature.

Often considered to be Ibsen's most popular play in his lifetime, The League of Youth caused fighting in the streets, with conservatives claiming it was an attack on their party and liberals claiming it was an attack on theirs! A thought-provoking comedy that's sure to feel shockingly familiar. Unusually for Ibsen, this play has a lot of humour and a more-or-less happy ending.

Forty-two years old Marlow is drinking with four other Englishmen. They have known each other since the beginning of their working lives. Some of them have other jobs now, but they still gather to recall the good old days. Marlow tells his friends a story of his early life, when he travelled to the East as a young man in search of adventure. He shares his experience and impressions of the different cultures he came across with the four men.

Stephen Crane was born 1st November, 1871 in Newark, New Jersey. Crane only began a full-time education when he was nine but quickly mastered the grades needed to catch up and move forward. Although educated at Lafayette and Syracuse he had little interest in completing university and was keener to move on to a career, declaring college to be ‘a waste of time’. By twenty he was a reporter and two years later had published his debut novel ‘Maggie: A Girl of the Streets’. In literary circles this was hailed as the first work of American literary Naturalism.

In "The Youth Who Could Not Shudder", a man’s second of two sons, thought a fool by all, sets out to learn how to shudder, because, try as he might, he has no idea what people mean when they talk of it. While various elders he meets feel confident they can strike enough terror into his heart to make him shudder, one after one they fail. How he finally learns to shudder will surprise all who listen to this famous Grimm folktale.