wizardofoddz t1_j2agolu wrote on December 30, 2022 at 8:37 PM

I was in Ukraine and as a great Joseph Conrad fame was surprised to be told in Zhitomir that this was his hometown. "But," I said, "he's Polish." "This was Poland," they told me.

HelloJoeyJoeJoe t1_j2cvpi9 wrote on December 31, 2022 at 8:23 AM

Damn, I had no clue. I thought he was British, through and through

Commercial_Living t1_j2d5b08 wrote on December 31, 2022 at 10:35 AM

English wasn’t his mother tongue, yet he wrote his books in English. Fascinating fellow.

antoin3walk3r t1_j2ed68q wrote on December 31, 2022 at 5:15 PM

He didn’t even learn English until his 20s then became one of the greatest writers of all time in english.

Shot-Spray5935 t1_j2d5hnm wrote on December 31, 2022 at 10:38 AM

He never lived there really. He grew up in Kraków and his name is strongly associated with that city.

Bardez t1_j2dyr9y wrote on December 31, 2022 at 3:35 PM

My grandfather was Polish. I have an aunt who is now claiming we're actually Ukrainian. I'm starting to get it.

hewhohasnoname257 t1_j2e7mqw wrote on December 31, 2022 at 4:38 PM

My now deceased Polish grandmother's birth certificate had place of birth as Prussia.