A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

First published in 1916, this novel follows Stephen Dedalus from infancy in a Catholic household through Jesuit schooling and University College, Dublin. Family fortunes decline; a Christmas argument over Parnell splits the table. A retreat sermon on hell terrifies the adolescent Stephen into a phase of piety, which later collapses. At university he forms an aesthetic theory of the artist and prepares to leave Ireland. The narration moves from baby-talk to a more self-conscious style as Stephen claims a vocation. It is a novel of formation concerned with faith, family, and language rather than with external plot.

Full brown cloth binding with an illustrative design in green by Masterman. Pale yellow endleaves. Green slipcase.