James Joyce
Ireland & Irish history

To understand the present, one has to understand the past. To understand a writer, one has to develop an understanding for the historical context in which he lived. Understanding the history of Ireland is crucial for comprehending Joyce's works because it provides the necessary backdrop against which his narratives unfold. His portrayal of Ireland's complexities, from its cultural tensions to its political struggles, is integral to understanding the depth and nuances of his literary masterpieces — even though he write most of his works in exile.

Below is a list of secondary works to help understand the hostorical background of the late 19th/early 20th century.

Reflection of Irish Society and Politics

Joyce's works, especially "Dubliners" and "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man," are deeply embedded in the social, cultural, and political fabric of Ireland at the turn of the 20th century. They capture the nuances of Irish life, the struggles for national identity, and the impacts of colonialism. Major historical events, such as the Irish Literary Revival, the push for Home Rule, the Easter Rising (1916), and the subsequent Irish War of Independence, shaped the Ireland that Joyce knew and wrote about. These events are often referenced, both directly and indirectly, in his works and influence the themes and characters he explores.

Joyce's Exile and Perspective

Although much of Joyce's writing was done during his self-imposed exile, his perspective was deeply Irish. His distance from Ireland allowed him to write about his homeland with a unique blend of intimacy and objectivity. Understanding Ireland's history helps readers appreciate how Joyce's views on Ireland and its future were shaped by his experiences both at home and abroad.

Setting as a Character

In works like "Ulysses," Dublin is not just a setting but a character in its own right. Understanding the historical and cultural context of the city enriches the reading experience, as the city's geography and zeitgeist play a crucial role in the narrative. Joyce's use of language, dialects, and idiomatic expressions is rooted in the historical and social contexts of Ireland. His portrayal of the Irish vernacular is a vital element of his character development and storytelling.

Bibliography for James Joyce —
Ireland & Irish history

Author Title Type
Arnold, Bruce. The Spire and Other Essays on Modern Irish Culture. Dublin (Liffey Press) 2003. Book
Bartlett, Thomas. The Fall and Rise of the Irish Nation: The Catholic Question, 1690-1830. Savage (Barnes and Noble) 1992. Book
Beckett, J.C. A Short History of Ireland. 3rd ed. London (Hutchinson) 1966. Book
Bidwell, Bruce. The Joycean Way: A Topographic Guide to "Dubliners" and "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man". Baltimore (Johns Hopkins University Press) 1981. Book
Brown, Terence. Ireland: A Social and Cultural History, 1922 to the Present. Ithaca, NY (Cornell University Press) 1985. Book
Bulson, Eric. "Joyce's Geodesy," in: Journal of Modern Literature 25.2 (Winter 2001-2002), p.80-96. Article
Cato, Bob. Joyce Images. Ed. Greg Vitiello. (W. W. Norton) 1994. Book
Cleary, Joe / Connolly, Claire (Eds.). Cambridge companion to Modern Irish Culture. New York (Cambridge University Press) 2005. Book
Clery, Arthur. The Idea of a Nation. Dublin (University College of Dublin Press) 2003. Book
Cullingford, Elizabeth Bulter. Ireland's Others: Ethnicity and Gender in Irish Literature and Popular Culture. Notre Dame (University of Notre Dame Press) 2002. Book
Deane, Seamus. A Short History of Irish Literature. London (Huchinson) 1986. Book
Delaney, Frank. James Joyce's Odyssey: a Guide to the Dublin of 'Ulysses'". London (Hodder & Stoughton) 1981. Rep. London (Paladin) 1983." Amazon
Edwards, Ruth Dudley. An Atlas of Irish History. New York (Methuen and Co.) (2)1937. Book
Encyclopaedia of Ireland. New York (McGraw-Hill) 1968. Book
Eyler, Audrey S. / Robert F. Garatt (Eds.). The Uses of the Past: Essays on Irish Culture. Newark (Univ. of Delaware Press) 1988. Book
Fairhall, James. James Joyce and the Question of History. Cambridge University Press, 1999. Amazon
Foster, R.F. Modern Ireland, 1600-1972. Repr. New York (Penguin) 1990. Book
Foster, R.F. W.B. Yeats: A Life v. II The Arch Poet. Oxford (Oxford University Press) 2003. Book
Gardiner, David. "Dublin's Joyce: Mapping Joyce Studies," in: New Hibernia Review 5.2 (Summer 2001), p.135-141. Article
Garvin, John. James Joyce's Disunited Kingdom and the Irish Dimension. Dublin (Gill&Macmillan) 1976. Book
Harmon, Maurice. Fenians and Fenianism. Centenary Essays. Seattle (University of Washington Press) 1970. Book
Hart, Clive / Knuth, Leo. A Topographical Guide to James Joyce's "Ulysses". Colchester (Wake Newslitter Press) 1975. Book
Hickey, Kieran. Faithful Departed: The Dublin of James Joyce's "Ulysses." (1)1982, Dublin (Lillyput Press) 2004. Book
Hofheinz, Thomas C. Joyce and the Invention of Irish History: "Finnegans Wake" in Context. Cambridge (Cambridge University Press) 1995. Book
Hutchins, Patricia. James Joyce's Dublin. London (Gray Walls Press) 1950. Book
Kain, R. M. Dublin in the Age of William Butler Yeats and James Joyce. Norman (Oklahoma University Press) 1962. Repr. Newton Abbot 1972. Book
Kee, Robert. The Green Flag. London (Weidenfeld and Nicolson) 1972. Republished in 3 vols: The Most Distressful Country, The Bold fenian Men,and Ourselves Alone, Harmondsworth (Penguin Books) 1989. Book
Kenner, Hugh. Dublin's Joyce. Bloomington (Indiana University Press) 1955. Rep. ed. New York (Columbia University Press) 1987. Book
Kilfeather, Siobhan. Dublin: A cultural and Literary History. Dublin (Liffey Press) 2005. Book
Lloyd, David. Nationalism and Minor Literature: James Clarence Mangan and the Emergence of Irish Cultural Nationalism. Berkeley (Berkeley University Press) 1987. Book
Longacre, Jeffrey. "Education and Social Class in Joyce's Dublin," in: Journal of Modern Literature 22.2 (Winter 1998/1999), p.329-336. Article
Lyons, F.S.L. Culture and Anarchy in Ireland, 1890-1939. New York (Oxford University Press) 1982. Book
Lyons, F.S.L. "James Joyce's Dublin," in: Twentieth Century Views 4 (1970), p.6-35.. Article
Manganiello, Dominic. Joyce's Politics. London (Routledge) 1980. Book
McCarthy, Jake / Rose, Danis. Joyce's Dublin. A Walking Guide to "Ulysses". New York (St Martin's Press) 1986. Book
Monaghan, Ken. "Dublin in the Time of Joyce," in: Joyce Studies Annual 12 (Summer 2001), p.65-73. Article
Moody, T.W. A New History of Ireland. Oxford (Clarendon Press) 1976. Book
Negrotti, Rosanna. Joyce's Dublin : An Illustrated Commentary. London (Caxton Editions) 2001. Book
Nolan, Emer. James Joyce and Nationalism. London (Routledge) 1995. Book
Norris, David. Joyce's Dublin. Dublin (Eason) 1982. Book
O'Brien, Joseph V. 'Dear Dirty Dublin. A City in Distress, 1899-1916. (University of California Press) 1982. Book
O'Dwyer, Frederick. Lost Dublin. (Gill and Macmillan) 1981. Book
Pearl, Cyril. Dublin in Bloomtime: The City James Joyce Knew. (Viking) 1969. Book
Pierce, David. James Joyce's Ireland (With Contemporary Photographs by Dan Harper). New Haven/London (Yale University Press) 1992. Book
Potts, Willard. Joyce and the Two Irelands. Austin (University of Texas Press) 2001. Book
Quinn, Edward. James Joyce's Dublin. (Secker and Warburg) 1974. Book
Shaw, George Bernard. "The Matter with Ireland," in: The Irish Times. Dublin, 23rd July 1910. Article
Sherry, Vincent. Joyce and the Two Dubliners. Cambridge (Cambridge University Press) 1985. Book
Smyth, Gerry. Space and the Irish Cultural Imagination. New York (Palgrave) 2001. Book
Staley, Thomas F. "The Joyce of Geography," in: Journal of Modern Literature 27.1-2 (Fall 2003), p.71-80. Article
Todd, Loreto. The Language of Irish Literature. London (Macmillan) 1989. Book
Wall, Cheryl. Worrying the Line: Black Women Writers, Lineage, and Literary Tradition. Chapel Hill (University of North Carolina Press) 2005. Book