Crazy Literary Facts: James Joyce and Ireland

Jeevan Sivasubramaniam Posted by Jeevan Sivasubramaniam, Managing Director, Editorial, Berrett-Koehler Publishers Inc.



Despite being named one of Ireland's most famous authors, James Joyce actually never set foot in Ireland after the age of 30. he actually got out of Ireland when he was 22 and settled in Italy. So all those books about Ireland--such as The Dubliners? Written many years since he last stepped foot there. He didn't even return for his father's funeral.

So keep in mind that all those depictions of Irish life are based on his memories up until around 1904 and not necessarily reflective of his homeland at the time of writing.