These three works of Conrad's middle years show him at the height of his powers. Each is an adventure story which also explores profound issues of identity and provides ironic insights into the bases of civilization. Lord Jim (1900) tells of a young, idealistic Englishman who is disgraced by an act of cowardice in an Eastern port. Behind the story of ships and the sea is an involving study of a modern tragic hero's greatness and weakness. Heart of Darkness (1902) shares the narrator of Lord Jim , Marlow, who journeys up the Congo river to meet the remarkable Mr Kurtz. Set in an atmosphere of mystery and menace, the tale appraises the glamour and folly of imperial adventure. Nostromo (1904) recreates the perilous history of a Latin American seaboard country through a series of personal stories. Each character is affected by the attempts of the heirs of a silver mine to rescue it from the hands of the latest revolutionary dictator. Conrad is a writer of great subtlety and sophistication; these three works display the technical brilliance and psychological depth which have established him as one of the first English Modernists.