Joseph Conrad 
Youth 
A Short Story

Five men sit around a mahogany table, drinking claret. As the wine loosens their tongues, one tells a story from his youth, recounting the strange voyage of the doomed ship Judea. Inspired by Conrad's own experiences at sea, Youth is a haunting tale about ill omens, the passing of time and the making of a man. It was based on Joseph Conrad's own experiences sailing in the Far East, and in it he captures a young man's exhilaration in the face of danger and the unknown.