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.

Bound in green cloth blocked on cover with a black and gold picture. Ribbon marker. 8 black & white illustrations. No slipcase. Collectable.