James Joyce (1882 - 1941) one of the most influential writers in the20th Century modernist movement. In 1999, Time Magazine named Joyce one of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th century, stating that "Joyce ... revolutionised 20th century fiction". In 1998, the Modern Library, ranked Ulysses No. 1 and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man No. 3, on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century. This Omnibus Edition features his two greatest novels - A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and Ulysses, as well as his famous book of short stories - Dubliners and an example of his poetry - Chamber Music. -A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man- is heavily autobiographical, it is a coming of age novel where a young man gradually comes to recognise his artistic gifting. -Ulysses- is a novel that takes place in a single day, 16 June 1904. Joyce uses every literary technique in the book including the stream of consciousness that characterise his works. The characters and incidents of the Odyssey of Homer are set instead in Dublin amongst common folk. The book is both fondly describing in immense and accurate detail the city of Dublin and also dwelling on the squalor and misery within the city. -Dubiners- is a series of short stories, which like all his fiction is set in Ireland. They are incisive investigations into the inertia of Dublin society at the time. -Chamber Music- is his first full-length poetry collection, consisting of 36 short lyrics.
