Joseph Conrad Retold by James Butler Activities by Louis Vaughan Human interest Marlow, a merchant sailor, travels through colonial Africa. He makes a perilous journey by steamboat to rescue Kurtz, an agent, who is seriously ill. He arrives at Kurtz’s station to find that the agent has taken control of the whole area. In his complete isolation from civilised society Kurtz has instituted a brutal system of human sacrifice and magic to enthral the natives. Dossiers: Conrad and the Colonial Experience and others Exit test