Why F. Scott Fitzgerald wished he had written this masterpiece of political corruption

Art · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Joseph Conrad’s 1904 novel Nostromo is a haunting study of idealism, greed, and the corrupting power of wealth. Set in the fictional South American republic of Costaguana, it follows a legendary Italian seaman whose bravery becomes his undoing when he is entrusted with a fortune in silver during a violent revolution.

The novel centers on Charles Gould, an English-descended mine owner who believes his silver operation will stabilize the volatile nation of Costaguana. Instead, his wealth fuels further chaos, drawing in warlords like General Montero and forcing Gould to entrust his fortune to Nostromo, the charismatic Head Longshoreman of Sulaco. Nostromo, whose real name is Giovanni Battista Fidanza, is a man of immense reputation who is nonetheless treated as a disposable tool by the European elite. When his mission to smuggle the silver out of the port city goes awry, he hides the treasure on the deserted island of Great Isabel.

The secret of the silver’s survival becomes a psychological burden that destroys Nostromo. While the world believes the treasure is lost at sea, he secretly recovers it piece by piece, becoming a slave to his own hidden wealth. His paranoia deepens as he navigates the political machinations of characters like the cynical journalist Martin Decoud and the misanthropic Dr. Monygham. The irony of his fate is absolute: after surviving revolution and war, he is accidentally shot and killed by his own acquaintance, Giorgio Viola, while attempting to retrieve the very silver that corrupted him.

Conrad’s inspiration for the story dates back to his youth, when he heard a tale of a man who single-handedly stole a lighter full of silver. Decades later, he encountered a travelogue confirming the story, which served as the seed for his most acclaimed work. The novel’s influence has rippled through culture for a century, from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s profound admiration to its pervasive presence in science fiction, where the spacecraft in Ridley Scott’s Alien and the planet in Warhammer 40,000 serve as direct nods to Conrad’s dark, atmospheric vision of human greed.

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