"Youth" is an autobiographical short story by Joseph Conrad

Joseph Conrad

Joseph Conrad was a Polish-born English novelist.Conrad is regarded as one of the great novelists in English, although he did not speak the language fluently until he was in his twenties...

. It was written in 1898

1898 in literature

The year 1898 in literature involved some significant new books.-New books:*Elizabeth von Arnim - Elizabeth and Her German Garden*F. W. Bain - A Digit of the Moon*L...

 and included as the first story in the 1902

1902 in literature

The year 1902 in literature involved some significant new books.-Events:* April - Mark Twain purchases a home in Terrytown, New York.* June 4 - Mark Twain receives an honorary doctorate of literature degree from the University of Missouri....

 volume Youth, a Narrative, and Two Other Stories. This volume also includes Heart of Darkness

Heart of Darkness

Heart of Darkness is a novella written by Joseph Conrad. Before its 1903 publication, it appeared as a three-part series in Blackwood's Magazine. It was classified by the Modern Library website editors as one of the "100 best novels" and part of the Western canon.The story centres on Charles...

and The End of the Tether, which are concerned with maturity and old age, respectively. "Youth" depicts a young man's first journey to the East. It is narrated by Charles Marlow

Charles Marlow

Charles Marlow is a recurring character in the work of Polish-born English novelist Joseph Conrad. Marlow is an alter ego of Conrad; both are sailors for the British Empire during the late-19th and early-20th century during the height of British imperialism....

 who is also the narrator of Heart of Darkness

Heart of Darkness

Heart of Darkness is a novella written by Joseph Conrad. Before its 1903 publication, it appeared as a three-part series in Blackwood's Magazine. It was classified by the Modern Library website editors as one of the "100 best novels" and part of the Western canon.The story centres on Charles...

, Lord Jim

Lord Jim

Lord Jim is a novel by Joseph Conrad originally published as a serial in Blackwood's Magazine from October 1899 to November 1900.An early and primary event is Jim's abandonment of a ship in distress on which he is serving as a mate...

 and Chance

Chance (novel)

Chance is a novel by Joseph Conrad, published in 1913 following serial publication the previous year. Although the novel was not one upon which Conrad's later critical reputation was to depend, it was his greatest commercial success upon initial publication.Chance is narrated by Conrad's regular...

.
Similar to Joseph Conrad's more well-known Heart of Darkness

Heart of Darkness

Heart of Darkness is a novella written by Joseph Conrad. Before its 1903 publication, it appeared as a three-part series in Blackwood's Magazine. It was classified by the Modern Library website editors as one of the "100 best novels" and part of the Western canon.The story centres on Charles...

, "Youth" begins with a narrator describing five men drinking claret around a mahogany table.