Top 100 Classic Books Joseph Conrad was a Polish-British writer regarded as one of the greatest novelists to write in the English language. The Nature of a Crime is Joseph Conrad and Ford Madox Ford"s collaborative work, a study of human psychology. Delving into the darkest recesses of human mind, they present idiosyncratic characters fighting with their own overwhelming desires and intuitions. The deep love of the protagonist gives way to even more profound desperation. The feelings of the protagonist, as life is crumbles around him, are expressed profoundly by the two authors.