Dubliners

by James Joyce

Overview

Dubliners is a collection of fifteen short stories by James Joyce, first published in 1914. The stories
comprise a naturalistic depiction of Irish middle class life in and around Dublin in the early years of
the 20th century. The stories were written when Irish nationalism was at its peak, and a search for
a national identity and purpose was raging; at a crossroads of history and culture, Ireland was jolted
by various converging ideas and influences.
They centre on Joyce's idea of an epiphany: a moment where a character experiences a life-
changing self-understanding or illumination, and the idea of paralysis where Joyce felt Irish
nationalism stagnated cultural progression, placing Dublin at the heart of this regressive movement.
Many of the characters in Dubliners later appear in minor roles in Joyce's novel Ulysses.
The initial stories in the collection are narrated by child protagonists, and as the stories continue,
they deal with the lives and concerns of progressively older people. This is in line with Joyce's
tripartite division of the collection into childhood, adolescence and maturity.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781990089237
Publisher:	Birch Tree Publishing
Publication date:	03/12/2021
Pages:	204
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.43(d)

About the Author

The eldest of ten children, James Joyce was born in Dublin on the 2nd of February 1882.
Despite his family being impoverished by his father’s failings as a business man, Joyce was
educated at the best Jesuit schools and later in 1898 at University College Dublin.
His first published work was a review on Ibsen’s play When We Awaken in the Fortnightly Review
in 1900. Upon graduating, Joyce moved to Paris in pursuit of a medical career.
Before long, he gave up attending lectures and devoted himself to literature.
He returned to Dublin as a result of the fatal illness of his mother and shortly afterwards, in 1904,
Joyce met Nora Barnacle who was later to become his wife. The young couple travelled to the
continent and in 1905 settled in Trieste where they were to remain until 1915. Joyce’s first book
Chamber Music was published in 1907 as a book of poetry and Dubliners followed in 1914.

Date of Birth:

February 2, 1882

Date of Death:

January 13, 1941

Place of Birth:

Dublin, Ireland

Place of Death:

Zurich, Switzerland

Education:

B.A., University College, Dublin, 1902

Website:

http://www.jamesjoyce.ie