In 1904, having known each other for only three months, a young woman named Nora Barnacle and a not yet famous writer named James Joyce left Ireland together for Europe—unwed. So began a deep and complex partnership, and eventually a marriage, which endured for thirty-seven years.
This is the true story of Nora, the woman who, transformed by Joyce's imagination, became Molly Bloom, arguably the most famous female character in twentieth-century literature. It is also the story of Ireland, a social history encapsulated in the vivid recreation of Joyce and his small Irish entourage abroad. Ultimately it is the portrait of a relationship—of Nora's complicated, committed, and at times shocking relationship with a hardworking, hard drinking genius and with his work.
In NORA: THE REAL LIFE OF MOLLY BLOOM, the award-winning biographer Brenda Maddox has given us a powerful new lens through which to see both James Joyce and the woman who was in turn his inspiration and his salvation.
The first authoritative biography of Nora Joyce.
"A fascinating portrait."—Edna O'Brien The New York Times
"Brilliant . . . the first book to read about Joyce himself." Newsweek
Brenda Maddox is the author of several books, including D.H. LAWRENCE: THE STORY OF A MARRIAGE and, most recently, YEAT'S GHOSTS: THE SECRET LIFE OF W.B. YEATS. She lives in London.
| Acknowledgments | ix | |
| List of Illustrations | xv | |
| Introduction | xvii | |
| Part I | Lily | |
| 1. | Exit from Finn's | 3 |
| 2. | The Man-Killer | 7 |
| 3. | The Summer of 1904 | 23 |
| Part II | Bertha | |
| 4. | Signora Joyce | 49 |
| 5. | Madonna and Child | 74 |
| 6. | Away Alone | 89 |
| 7. | A House of Joyces | 109 |
| Part III | Molly | |
| 8. | Second Exile | 135 |
| 9. | Artists and Models | 153 |
| 10. | "Circe" Goes to Paris | 169 |
| 11. | In a Free State | 193 |
| 12. | Molly | 198 |
| 13. | Fame | 211 |
| 14. | Square Robiac | 227 |
| 15. | Legitimate Interests | 255 |
| Part IV | Anna Livia | |
| 16. | Madness in Progress, I | 283 |
| 17. | Madness in Progress, II | 305 |
| 18. | Madness in Progress, III | 319 |
| 19. | Flight into Zurich | 336 |
| 20. | Staying On | 346 |
| 21. | The Sound of Lions | 359 |
| 22. | Nora Speaking | 374 |
| Appendix | Man of Letters | 385 |
| Notes | 403 | |
| Bibliography | 439 | |
| Index | 453 |
Overview
In 1904, having known each other for only three months, a young woman named Nora Barnacle and a not yet famous writer named James Joyce left Ireland together for Europe—unwed. So began a deep and complex partnership, and eventually a marriage, which endured for thirty-seven years.
This is the true story of Nora, the woman who, transformed by Joyce's imagination, became Molly Bloom, arguably the most famous female character in twentieth-century literature. It is also the story of...