The Nigger of the 'Narcissus': A Tale of the Forecastle (also subtitled A Tale of the Sea and published in the United States as The Children of the Sea) is an 1897 novella by Joseph Conrad. Because of its quality compared to earlier works, some critics have described it as marking the start of Conrad's major or middle period; others have placed it as the best work of his early period. Conrad's preface to the novel, regarded as a manifesto of literary impressionism, is considered one of his most significant pieces of non-fiction writing. It begins with the line: "A work that aspires, however humbly, to the condition of art should carry its justification in every line". (wikipedia.org)