In 1904 three of Joyce’s stories appeared in the Irish Homestead, the magazine of the farmers’ cooperative movement, which Joyce disparagingly called the ‘Pig’s Paper.’ In February 1906, London publisher Grant Richards agreed to publish Dubliners, but by April his printers, afraid of being prosecuted for printing obscenity, objected to the content of some stories, and in September 1906 Richards refused to publish the book. Joyce tried other publishers and was accepted by the Irish publishers Maunsel and Company in July 1909. But they and their printer, John Falconer, soon made objections, and on 11 September 1912 the printer destroyed the already-printed pages of Dubliners. That was Joyce’s last day in Dublin. In November 1913, Joyce offered the book to Grant Richards again and it was accepted, and published on 15 June 1914. It was not a commercial success: by the end of 1914 only 379 copies had been sold.
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…