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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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A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

by Joyce, James

  • Used
  • very good
  • first
Condition
Very Good
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About This Item

New York: B. W. Huebsch, 1916. First edition. Very Good. A Very Good copy with bright gilt on the spine. Shelfwear to extremities. Front inner hinge starting, but holding. Some offsetting to front endpaper and early ownership signature to front pastedown. Page 16 with slight skinning affecting several lines of text.

Joyce's first novel recounts the coming of age story of Stephen Dedalus, the artistic alter-ego of Joyce himself. Stephen grows up ensconced in rigid institutions: the church, school system, family, and national politics. Feeling trapped, Stephen experiences a series of awakenings as he grows older and as a result of these awakenings, Stephen rejects these traditional bulwarks of Irish culture. Instead, he develops an aestheticism that will support his artistic vision. This rejection of existing communities and institutions, alongside his embrace of a new aestheticism, alienates Stephen from what he knows. Facing this alienation, Stephen decides to leave Ireland and pursue his art abroad.

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is an important contribution to literary modernism. One innovation is Joyce's use of age-appropriate syntax and vocabulary. The beginning of the novel, which starts in Stephen's infancy, is mostly monosyllabic nonsense. As Stephen grows older and grasps more about the world and his place in it, the novel's vocabulary and syntax become correspondingly complex. Of Joyce's first novel, H.G. Wells writes that "It is a mosaic of jagged fragments that does altogether render with extreme completeness the growth of a rather secretive, imaginative boy in Dublin. The technique is startling, but on the whole it succeeds." Very Good.

Synopsis

Joyce's A Portait of the Artist as a Young Man is a semi-autobiographical work. It tells of the intellectual, religious, and philosophical awakening of the main character, Stephen Dedalus as he rebels against the conventions in which he has been raised and leaves home to pursue his artistic ambition.

Read More: Identifying first editions of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

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Details

Bookseller
Whitmore Rare Books US (US)
Bookseller's Inventory #
2940
Title
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Author
Joyce, James
Book Condition
Used - Very Good
Quantity Available
1
Edition
First edition
Publisher
B. W. Huebsch
Place of Publication
New York
Date Published
1916

Terms of Sale

Whitmore Rare Books

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About the Seller

Whitmore Rare Books

Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Biblio member since 2009
Pasadena, California

About Whitmore Rare Books

We operate a retail shop in "Old Town" Pasadena open normal business hours Tuesday through Saturday.

Glossary

Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:

First Edition
In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
Gilt
The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
Hinge
The portion of the book closest to the spine that allows the book to be opened and closed.
Spine
The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
Shelfwear
Minor wear resulting from a book being place on, and taken from a bookshelf, especially along the bottom edge.

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