Books

Limited edition #555/2000. First UK edition (printed in France). Octavo (22.6 cm), pp. [viii], [2], 3 - 732, [2]. Light blue wraps, all edges deckled. Handmade paper. Though this is the first edition of Joyce's masterpiece by an English publisher, it was published in Paris by John Rodker for the Egoist Press, as the book was still outlawed in the UK and US. Rodker used the original plates from the Shakespeare & Company first edition of February of the same year. This copy is lacking the eight pages of errata that would have been laid-in, and we are lucky that this copy survives at all: the Slocum and Cahoon bibliography quotes a February 25, 1947 letter from Harriet Shaw Weaver stating, "A good number of copies sent by ordinary book post to the U.S.A. got through to their various destinations, but some time between October 1922 (when the Egoist edition was published) and December, the U.S.A. censorship authorities evidently became suspicious; copies were held up and accumulated at the U.S.A. post offices until finally 400-500 copies were confiscated and burnt" (27). James F. Spoerri [as reported on the same page] believes that the confiscated books included numbers 500 to 1000, making this, #555, one of the escapees of the censors. It was purchased by the previous owner from a NYC bookdealer in 1982.Lacking the front wrap and blank leaves at front. Chipping to spine and minor edge wear and creasing to the first few pages, as well as small, light smudges to half-title and title pages. However, the solidity and overall cleanliness of the text block make this copy a good candidate for rebinding.

"Ulysses" is a complex and multi-layered novel that takes place over the course of a single day, June 16, 1904, in Dublin, Ireland. It follows the lives and experiences of three central characters: Stephen Dedalus, Leopold Bloom, and Molly Bloom. Stephen Dedalus is a young aspiring writer and artist, a character partially based on Joyce himself. He struggles with his identity, his relationship with his deceased mother, and his place in the world. Leopold Bloom, a middle-aged Jewish man, is the novel's central figure. He works as an advertisement canvasser and has a deep affection for his wife, Molly. Throughout the day, Bloom encounters various events and people as he navigates Dublin. His experiences and thoughts are depicted in a stream-of-consciousness narrative style, offering insight into his musings on life, love, and his surroundings. Molly Bloom, Leopold's wife, is introduced in the final episode of the book. Her interior monologue, famously known as the "Penelope" episode, showcases her thoughts, desires, and memories, providing a different perspective on the events of the day. The novel is divided into 18 episodes, each employing a different narrative technique, style, or literary device. Joyce experiments with language, employing puns, allusions, parodies, and various linguistic styles to reflect the characters' thoughts and the vibrant atmosphere of Dublin. "Ulysses" draws heavily on Homer's "The Odyssey," with each episode mirroring an episode in the ancient epic and paralleling the adventures of Odysseus. The title itself references the Latinized name of Odysseus, and the novel explores themes of journey, identity, exile, and the human condition. Throughout the book, Joyce tackles various aspects of human experience, including politics, religion, sexuality, art, mortality, and the mundane details of everyday life. The novel is celebrated for its rich literary innovations, intricate structure, and depth of meaning, but it's also renowned for its challenging and experimental nature, which can make it a demanding read for some audiences.