Dubliners was James Joyce's first major work. Set against the background of Dublin at the turn of the century, he describes, in a frank, realistic style, incidents in the lives of ordinary men and women, made extraordinary by the eye of his genius. The stories deal progressively with youth, adolescence, young adulthood and maturity. Continuity is provided by the themes of repression, entrapment and revolt. But the unique wit of the Irish also bubbles frequently to the surface, relished and splendidly displayed.

James Joyce

(1882–1941), an Irish poet and novelist, was one of the most celebrated writers of the twentieth century. His works include Ulysses, Finnegans Wake, and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.