Joyce's depiction of the early Dublin life of Stephen Dedalus towers over modern literature, providing a stylistic blueprint and creative touchstone for artists young and old (Guardian)"It's damn well written" (Ezra Pound)"There is nothing more vivid or beautiful in all Joyce's writing. It has the searing clarity of truth...but is rich with myth and symbol" (Sunday Times)"James Joyce is my favourite novelist...Once I had read [this] I knew that I could never create … mehranything that even came close to Joyce's magic" (James Patterson Sunday Express) --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition. This Wordsworth Edition includes an exclusive Introduction and Notes by Dr. Jacqueline Belanger, University of Cardiff. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man represents the transitional stage between the realism of Joyce's Dubliners and the symbolism of Ulysses, and is essential to the understanding of the later work. This novel is a highly autobiographical account of the adolescence of Stephen Dedalus, who reappears in Ulysses, and who comes to realize that before he can become a true artist, he must rid himself of the stultifying effects of the religion, politics and essential bigotry of his background in late 19th century Ireland. Written with a light touch, this is perhaps the most accessible of Joyce's works. weniger