Acclaimed Irish novelist Tóibín gathers original essays and interviews for the latest volume in the publisher’s History of the Book series. Collectively, the pieces venture incisively into what James Joyce called his “damned monster-novel.” Avoiding the usual tropes and time-worn critical approaches to the novel, these essays are fresh and accessible to general readers. Tóibín begins with a probing essay on the novel’s often overlooked historical setting in 1904 Ireland and England. Exploring the intimate, complex role of Dublin in the novel, Anne Fogarty invites readers to “surmise things the text does not tell us, an impulse that would be a misstep in the case of most other fictions.” Three essays reveal how much the places where Joyce lived influenced the composition of Ulysses: Trieste; Zurich, where he wrote a large portion of the novel; and Paris, “perhaps the only city in the world where Ulysses could come to fruition and find publication,” according to Catherine Flynn. In Paris, Joyce found stability, financial support, and fame. In the intriguing “Revisioning Ulysses,” Maria DiBattista notes that Joyce “composed [the novel] with an eye for accuracy that would satisfy not only the town gossip but also the municipal engineer,” as he gradually devised new linguistic techniques to portray his characters. After an essay dealing with the historical and legal issues surrounding the novel’s famous censorship trials, Derick Dreher writes about Joyce’s handwritten, heavily edited Ulysses manuscripts and the fascinating history behind them. In 1924, they sold at auction for $1,975. Bibliophiles will savor James Maynard’s essay about the world’s largest collection of Joyceana, at the University of Buffalo—“unmatched glimpses into his writing process and literary relationships”—and how it was assembled. The book also includes excellent illustrations.
