''The Arrow of Gold'' is a novel by Joseph Conrad, published in 1919. It was originally titled "The Laugh" and published serially in ''Lloyd's Magazine'' from December 1918 to February 1920. The story is set in

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

in the 1870s during the

Third Carlist War The Third Carlist War ( es, Tercera Guerra Carlista) (1872–1876) was the last Carlist War in Spain. It is sometimes referred to as the "Second Carlist War", as the earlier "Second" War (1847–1849) was smaller in scale and relatively trivial ...

. The characters of the novel are supporters of the Spanish Pretender

Carlos, Duke of Madrid ''Don'' Carlos de Borbón y Austria-Este (Spanish: ''Carlos María de los Dolores Juan Isidro José Francisco Quirico Antonio Miguel Gabriel Rafael''; French: ''Charles Marie des Douleurs Jean Isidore Joseph François Cyr Antoine Michel Gabriel R ...

. Curiously, the novel features a person referred to as "Lord X", whose activities as arms smuggler resemble those of the Carlist politician Tirso de Olazábal y Lardizábal, Count of Arbelaiz. The narrator of ''The Arrow of Gold'' has considerable involvement in the story and is unnamed. The principal theme is a love triangle which comprises the young narrator, Doña Rita and the

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

veteran Captain Blunt (named for Simon F. Blunt). Doña Rita finances the operations of the narrator's vessel, ''Tremolino'' which smuggles ammunition to the Carlist army. Nautical operations are detailed in the Tremolino chapters of ''The Mirror of the Sea'' rather than in this novel. Conrad dedicated the novel to his friend, the author, critic and journalist

Richard Curle Richard Curle (1883–1968) was a Scottish author, critic, and journalist. He was a friend of the novelist Joseph Conrad, who was also the subject of several of his critical works. Conrad and Curle became friends in the 1910s, becoming especial ...

References

External links

* The Laugh (later called The Arrow of Gold) in Lloyd's Magazine (December, 1918-February, 1920). URL http://www.victorianweb.org/authors/conrad/pva47.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Arrow Of Gold, The 1919 British novels Novels by Joseph Conrad Fiction set in the 1870s Novels set in Marseille Novels first published in serial form

See also

References

External links