Dubliners

First published in 1914, ‘Dubliners’ was Irish novelist James Joyce’s first short story collection. The collection explores middle-class life in Ireland in the 20th century and the search for a national identity. Stories in the collection include that of a stereotypical Irish family in ‘Counterparts’, the virtues and stubbornness of the Irish mother figure in ‘Mother’ and a powerful exploration of life and death in ‘The Dead’. A classic collection from one of the most influential and important writers of the century.

James Joyce (1882-1941) was an Irish novelist, poet and short story writer. Born in Dublin, Joyce attended University College Dublin, before moving to Europe with his wife Nora Barnacle. It was whilst living in Trieste that Joyce wrote and published his first book of poems and his short story collection ‘Dubliners’. During WWI Joyce was living in Zurich and it was here that he wrote perhaps his most famous work, ‘Ulysses’. One of the most influential and important writers of the 20th century, his other famous works include ‘A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man’ and ‘Finnegans Wake’. He died in Paris in 1941 at the age of 58.

"Dubliners" is a collection of 15 short stories by James Joyce, which was first published in 1914. They form a naturalistic depiction of Irish middle class life in and around Dublin in the early years of the 20th century. 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.

James Joyce (1882-1941) was an Irish writer. He is considered one of the most important literary figures of the twentieth century. He spent most of his life abroad, mainly in France and Switzerland. He made his debut with the collection of poems "Chamber Music" in 1907, which was later followed by the short story collection "Dubliners" (1914) and the novels: "Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" (1916), "Ulysses" (1922) and "Finnegans Wake" (1939). His most famous work is undoubtedly "Ulysses", often referred to as the "Odyssey" of the twentieth century. It remains one of the most innovative novels in the history of literature to this day.