More about the book's history

Greenwich Bombing of 1894

Royal Observatory, greenwich c. 1902 as depicted on a postcard

Conrad's character, Stevie, is based on the French anarchist, Martial Bourdin, who died gruesomely in Greenwich Park when the explosives he carried prematurely detonated. Bourdin's motives remain a mystery as does his intended target, which may have been the Greenwich observatory. In the 1920 Author's Note to the novel, Conrad recalls a discussion with Ford Madox about the bombing