A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

WITH INTRODUCTIONS BY DR DIETER FUCHS AND JOSEPH O'CONNOR

Against the backdrop of nineteenth century Dublin, a boy becomes a man: his mind testing its powers, obsessions taking hold and loosening again, the bonds of family, tradition, nation and religion transforming from supports into shackles; until the young man devotes himself to the celebration of beauty, and reaches for independence and the life of an artist.

Review

Joyce's depiction of the early Dublin life of Stephen Dedalus towers over modern literature, providing a stylistic blueprint and creative touchstone for artists young and old ― Guardian

It's damn well written -- Ezra Pound

There is nothing more vivid or beautiful in all Joyce's writing. It has the searing clarity of truth...but is rich with myth and symbol ― Sunday Times

James Joyce is my favourite novelist...Once I had read [this] I knew that I could never create anything that even came close to Joyce's magic -- James Patterson ― Sunday Express

About the Author

James Joyce was born on 2 February 1882 in Dublin. He studied modern languages at University College, Dublin. After graduating, Joyce moved to Paris for a brief period in 1902. In 1904 Joyce met Nora Barnacle, with whom he would spend the rest of his life and they moved to Europe and settled in Trieste where Joyce worked as a teacher. His first published work was a book of poems called Chamber Music (1907). This was followed by Dubliners (1914), A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916) and the play Exiles (1918). In 1915 the First World War forced Joyce and Nora and their two children to move to Zürich. Joyce's most famous novel, Ulysses, was published in Paris in 1922. In the same year he started work on his last great book, Finnegan's Wake (1939). James Joyce died in Zürich on 13 January 1941.