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James JoyceA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
James Joyce was born in Dublin, Ireland, on February 2, 1882. Dublin is the setting for all of Joyce’s literary works, including the short story “Clay.” Joyce, the eldest of 10 surviving children, was born into a middle-class Catholic family and his early schooling began at the prestigious Jesuit-run Clongowes Wood College. The family fortunes declined quickly, however. Joyce’s father, John Stanislaus Joyce, drank heavily, frittered away the family money, and became abusive to his wife when drunk. His unpredictable behavior led to a series of moves to increasingly impoverished neighborhoods. This downward social mobility was a source of distress to young Joyce.
Joyce graduated from University College, Dublin, in 1902 and left for Paris the same year. He returned to Ireland in response to the death of his mother in 1903 and subsequently returned to Europe with his lover Nora Barnacle in 1904. The couple lived in various European locations during the following years, and except for a few short visits, Joyce was never to return to Ireland. He wrote the stories included in Dubliners while in Europe, completing the collection in 1906, and published in 1914.
Stories like “Clay” point to Joyce’s early development as one of the leading figures of the Modernist movement.
By James Joyce
An Encounter
An Encounter
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A Painful Case
A Painful Case
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A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
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Araby
Araby
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Counterparts
Counterparts
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Dubliners
Dubliners
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Eveline
Eveline
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Finnegans Wake
Finnegans Wake
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Ivy Day in the Committee Room
Ivy Day in the Committee Room
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The Boarding House
The Boarding House
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The Dead
The Dead
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The Sisters
The Sisters
James Joyce
Two Gallants
Two Gallants
James Joyce
Ulysses
Ulysses
James Joyce