The Children of the Sea is the first US release of Joseph Conrad's novella The Nigger of the 'Narcissus': A Tale of the Sea. The Nigger of the 'Narcissus': A Tale of the Sea (1897) is a novella by Joseph Conrad. Because of its quality compared to earlier works, some have described it as marking the start of Conrad's major (middle) period; others have placed it as the best work of his early (first) period. John G. Peters said of it in 2006: "The unfortunately titled The Nigger of the "Narcissus" (titled Children of the Sea in the first American edition) is Conrad's best work of his early period. In fact, were it not for the book's title, it undoubtedly would be read more often than it is currently. At one time, it was one of Conrad's most frequently read books. In part because of its brevity, in part because of its adventure qualities, and in part because of its literary qualities, the novel used to attract a good deal of attention." The author's preface to the novel, regarded as a manifesto of literary impressionism, is considered one of Conrad's significant pieces of non-fiction writing. The titular character, James Wait, is a West Indian black sailor on board the merchant ship Narcissus sailing from Bombay to London. Wait falls ill with tuberculosis during the voyage, and his plight arouses the humanitarian sympathies of many of the crew, five of whom rescue him from his deck cabin during a storm, placing their own lives and the ship