Introduction & Notes by Robert Hampson Royal Holloway College University of London Nostromo is the only man capable of the decisive action needed to save the silver of the San Tome mine & secure independence for Sulaco Occidental province of the Latin American state of Costaguana Is his integrity as unassailable as everyone believes or will his ideals like those which have inspired the struggling state itself buckle under economic & political pressures? Nostromo is an extraordinary illustration of the impact of foreign commercial exploits on a young developing nation & the problems of reconciling individual identity with a social role Conrad peoples his imaginary Latin American state with a multi-national cast of fully-rounded characters to achieve striking realism & create a novel that he called my largest canvas'