A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man

James Joyce

Oxford University Press, 2000 - Fiction - 289 pages

James Joyce'sPortrait of an Artistis one of the most significant literary works of the twentieth century, and one of the most innovative. Its originality shocked contemporary readers on its publication in 1916 who found its treating of the minutiae of daily life as indecorous, and its central character unappealing. Was it art or was it filth?
The novel charts the intellectual, moral, and sexual development of Stephen Dedalus, from his childhood listening to his father's stories through his schooldays and adolescence to the brink of adulthood and independence, and his awakening as an artist. Growing up in a Catholic family in Dublin in the final years of the nineteenth century, Stephen's consciousness is forged by Irish history and politics, by Catholicism and culture, language and art. Stephen's story mirrors that of Joyce himself, and the novel is both startlingly realistic and brilliantly crafted, not to mention that it is one of the founding texts of Modernism and the precursor of the acclaimedUlysses.
For this edition Jeri Johnson, an eminent Joyce scholar, has written an introduction and notes which together provide a comprehensive and illuminating appreciation of Joyce's artistry.

About the Series:For over 100 yearsOxford World's Classicshas made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

What people are saying

Review: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

User Review  - Cameron Blizzard - Goodreads

This is considered by Modern Library to be the greatest novel of the century. A couple of my friends and I read the book together in high school. It is not the easiest, or simplest book to read, but ...

Review: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

User Review  - Amy Smolcic - Goodreads

The opening paragraph of A Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce is extremely basic, and contains language a child would you. As the book progresses, the language becomes more ...

About the author

Jeri Johnson is at Exeter College, Oxford.

Bibliographic information

• Title: A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man; Oxford World's Classics
• Author: James Joyce
• Editor: Jeri Johnson
• Contributor: Jeri Johnson
• Edition: reprint, revised
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2000
• ISBN: 0192839985, 9780192839985
• Length: 289 pages
• Subjects: Fiction / Classics; Fiction / Literary