VictoryAxel Heyst, a dreamer and a restless drifter, believes he can avoid suffering by cutting himself off from others. Then he becomes involved in the operation of a coal company on a remote island in the Malay Archipelago, and when it fails he turns his back on humanity once more. But his life alters when he rescues a young English girl, Lena, from Zangiacomo's Ladies' Orchestra and the evil innkeeper Schomberg, taking her to his island retreat. The affair between Heyst and Lena begins with her release, but the relationship shifts as Lena struggles to save Heyst from the detachment and isolation that have inhibited and influenced his life. Marked by a violent and tragic conclusion, Victory is both a tale of rescue and adventure and a perceptive study of a complex relationship and of the power of love. |
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Page xiv
... hear that one morning I was told without any particular emotion by the padrone of the schooner that the " Rich man " down there was dead : He had died in the night . I don't remember ever being so moved by the desolate end of a complete ...
... hear that one morning I was told without any particular emotion by the padrone of the schooner that the " Rich man " down there was dead : He had died in the night . I don't remember ever being so moved by the desolate end of a complete ...
Page 19
... hear the last of it . We must keep it dark . ” From quite other motives , among which his native delicacy was the principal , Heyst was even more anxious to bind himself to silence . A gentleman would natu- rally shrink from the part of ...
... hear the last of it . We must keep it dark . ” From quite other motives , among which his native delicacy was the principal , Heyst was even more anxious to bind himself to silence . A gentleman would natu- rally shrink from the part of ...
Page 23
... hear of this death till months afterward - from Schomberg , who dis- liked Heyst gratuitously and made up a piece of sinister whispered gossip : " That's what comes of having anything to do witk that fellow . He squeezes you dry like a ...
... hear of this death till months afterward - from Schomberg , who dis- liked Heyst gratuitously and made up a piece of sinister whispered gossip : " That's what comes of having anything to do witk that fellow . He squeezes you dry like a ...
Page 33
... hear of it he seized him heartily by the hand , gave one of his courtly bows , and declared that he was touched by his friendly proceedings . “ I am not alluding to this trifling amount which you decline to take , " he went on , giving ...
... hear of it he seized him heartily by the hand , gave one of his courtly bows , and declared that he was touched by his friendly proceedings . “ I am not alluding to this trifling amount which you decline to take , " he went on , giving ...
Page 37
... hear . He called brutally : " Boy ! " The Chinaman approached , and after referring him to the white man by a nod the hotel - keeper departed , muttering to himself . Davidson heard him gnash his teeth as he went . Davidson sat alone ...
... hear . He called brutally : " Boy ! " The Chinaman approached , and after referring him to the white man by a nod the hotel - keeper departed , muttering to himself . Davidson heard him gnash his teeth as he went . Davidson sat alone ...
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Common terms and phrases
ain't Alfuro arms asked believe boat breath brig bungalow chair cheroot chimæras Chinaman clairvoyance course dark Davidson door doorway eyes face faint feeling fellow felt frightened gaze gentleman gharry girl glance gleam gone governor gunwale hand hanging head heard Heyst hotel-keeper island Java Sea jetty Jones knew Lena light lips looked Malay Martin matter mean mind Morrison moustaches moved movement murmured mysterious never night Number once paused Pedro perhaps physiognomy quiet Ricardo round Samburan sarong sauceboat Schom Schomberg schooner seemed shadow shoulders side sight silence smile sort sound Sourabaya speak staring stood strange suddenly surprised Swede table d'hôte talk tell Tesmans There's thing thought tion told tone Tropical Belt Coal trouble turned understand verandah voice walked Wang watched wharf What's whispered woman wonder words Zangiacomo