The impetus to write stories of Dubliners seems to have come from George Russell, the poet, who was an editor of the Irish Homestead magazine. We know little about the writing process, but Joyce may have based his stories on short pieces he called ‘epiphanies,’ written while he was in university. The first story, written during the summer of 1904, was published on 13 August, the first anniversary of Joyce’s mother’s death. Joyce’s plan was to write four groups of three stories each focusing on childhood, adolescence, mature life and public life. That plan changed as Joyce had ideas for new stories and by the summer of 1906 the book consisted of fourteen stories. The fifteenth and final story, ‘The Dead,’ was written during the summer of 1907.
Press ‘A’ to learn about the evolution of the stories... Press ‘B’ to learn more about Joyce’s difficulties publishing Dubliners… Press ‘C’ to listen to an excerpt from one of Joyce’s letters to Grant Richards…