"A Personal Record" is the story of the design and manuscript of „Caprice Olmeyer," Conrad's first novel, as well as the story of his dream about the sea, and the story of his cousin who ate a dog, and the story of a beloved dog presented to his son, but above all, – the story of the novel „The Olmeyer Caprice", and the strange prototype of the hero of this novel, and a few more words about the man who was the first reader of this novel. At the same time, „A Personal Record" is not a classic autobiography, the book sometimes resembles a game of association, and it is impossible to predict where the author will bring another memory, another association and the story it generated.