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 xv
... light of the world - so natural that I offer no excuse for their existence . They were there , they had to come out ; and this is a sufficient excuse for a writer of tales who had taken to his trade without preparation , or ...
... light of the world - so natural that I offer no excuse for their existence . They were there , they had to come out ; and this is a sufficient excuse for a writer of tales who had taken to his trade without preparation , or ...
Page 5
... light Heyst could see his immediate surroundings , which had the aspect of an abandoned settlement invaded by the jungle : vague roofs above low vegetation , broken shadows of bamboo fences in the sheen of long grass , something like an ...
... light Heyst could see his immediate surroundings , which had the aspect of an abandoned settlement invaded by the jungle : vague roofs above low vegetation , broken shadows of bamboo fences in the sheen of long grass , something like an ...
Page 44
... light , into my lap while I sat there unsuspecting , ' Davidson went on . " Directly I had recovered my senses , I asked her what on earth she had to do with it that Heyst should leave it with her . And then , be having like a painted ...
... light , into my lap while I sat there unsuspecting , ' Davidson went on . " Directly I had recovered my senses , I asked her what on earth she had to do with it that Heyst should leave it with her . And then , be having like a painted ...
Page 62
... light from that direction ; but I can't believe that those beggars would go in there only to sit and think of their sins in the dark . " " That's strange . It's incredible that Schomberg should risk that sort of thing , " I said . PART ...
... light from that direction ; but I can't believe that those beggars would go in there only to sit and think of their sins in the dark . " " That's strange . It's incredible that Schomberg should risk that sort of thing , " I said . PART ...
Page 82
... light veil seemed to hang before his mental vision ; the awakening of a tenderness , indistinct and confused as yet , towards an unknown woman . Gradually silence , a real silence , had established itself round him . The concert was ...
... light veil seemed to hang before his mental vision ; the awakening of a tenderness , indistinct and confused as yet , towards an unknown woman . Gradually silence , a real silence , had established itself round him . The concert was ...
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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