The Irish writer James Joyce worked on his novel Ulysses for seven years: from 1914 to 1921. The novel was first published in 1922. More precisely on 02 February of that year.
This date was (by chance) the 40th birthday of the author. The book is quite long. It has 742 pages. The publication history of this novel is long and complicated.
Before the complete novel was published in 1922, several chapters had been published in a magazine (1918–1920).
The complete novel was published in the French capital Paris. The publisher was an American bookseller who had opened a bookshop in Paris. The name of the American bookseller is Sylvia Beach (1887–1962).
She met James Joyce while he was still working on his novel. They became friends. When she heard that he had trouble finding a publisher who was prepared to publish his novel, she asked him:
“Do you want me to publish it for you?”
When he said yes, the bookseller became a publisher as well.
What about other countries? When was Ulysses published in the UK or in the US?
Publication was delayed in the UK and the US, because some parts of the novel were regarded as obscene and thus a violation of existing laws.
In 1933, a judge in the US issued a verdict which said this novel was not illegal and it could be published.
In 1934, Ulysses was published by Random House in the US. Two years later, in 1936, Ulysses was published by Bodley Head in the UK
Ulysses: The 1922 Text with Essays and Notes
Edited by Katherine Flynn
This edition was published in 2022 to mark the 100-year anniversary of the publication of the novel in 1922.
*****
Who supported James Joyce when he needed help? Several names can be mentioned, but perhaps it is fair to focus on two women who offered significant assistance when the Irish writer needed help.
One woman has already been mentioned: Sylvia Beach saved him when he was unable to find a publisher who was prepared to publish his novel.
The other woman is the English political activist Harriet Shaw Weaver (1876-1961). She was a suffragette, but she also had a deep interest in modern literature.
She decided to offer economic support for the Irish writer who was struggling to support himself and his family. She became a significant patron of James Joyce. She sent regular payments to help him.
Her financial support began in 1914 and it continued until the end of his life in 1941. Her financial support continued even after his death when she paid for his funeral and offered help to his widow Nora Barnacle and their two children Giorgio and Lucia.
In the beginning, she was an anonymous patron. She hired a lawyer to transfer the money to James Joyce in order to remain anonymous.
For several years, he did not know who offered this generous support. The name of the patron was not revealed until 1919.
When Ulysses was published in 1922, James Joyce began to work on a new novel. He worked on this project for more than fifteen years: from 1922 to 1938.
His next novel Finnegans Wake was published in 1939.
During the 1930s, while he was working on this project, he sent selected passages to friends, including Harriet Shaw Weaver.
When she saw and read these passages, she was not happy. She told James that his work was not easy to understand. The relationship between them was strained, because she did not like what he was writing, but in spite of this fact she continued to offer financial support.
In 1939, when Finnegans Wake was published, even some of his friends were shocked and surprised when they saw it. They did not like it. They felt he had lost the way.
Many observers say that Finnegans Wake can only be read and perhaps understood if you have a companion volume which can explain the details of the book and the meaning of the words chosen by James Joyce.
REFERENCES
# 1. There is a book about the life of the American woman Sylvia Beach
The Paris Bookseller
By Kerri Maher
(2022)
# 2. There is a book about the life of the English woman Harriet Shaw Weaver
Dear Miss Weaver:
Harriet Shaw Weaver, 1876–1961
By Jane Lidderdale and Mary Nicholson
(1971)
# 3. There is a book about the life of James Joyce with special focus on the time when he was working on Ulysses
Serial Encounters:
Ulysses and The Little Review
By Clare Hutton
(2019 = hardcover)
(2022 = paperback)
# 4. There is a book about the legal problems which the novel Ulysses was up against in the US
The Most Dangerous Book:
The Battle for James Joyce's Ulysses
By Kevin Birmingham
(2014 = hardcover)
(2015 = paperback)
# 5. The following items are available online
Susan G. Hauser,
“Finnegans Wake Breakdown,”
Salon
16 March 2001
Clare Hutton,
“Women and the Making of James Joyce's Ulysses,”
Ransom Center Magazine,
University of Texas
16 December 2021
*****
