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Exiles

Exiles

Summary

James Joyce's only surviving play, Exiles builds upon one of his most famous short stories, 'The Dead', as well as elements of his own life.

It follows the story of writer Richard Rowan, who, along with his 'common-law wife' Bertha and their young son Archie, has come home to Dublin after ten long years away. Yet far from bringing comfort and ease, the couple's return to the place where they first met triggers an existential questioning, an anxiousness which is exacerbated by meetings with old friends and lovers. Exiles is a profound exploration of jealousy, doubt and the complexity of human desire.

'A landmark of modern theatre that explores the byzantine complexities of marriage with the honesty of genius' Guardian

With a new introduction and notes by Andrew Gibson

Reviews

  • A neglected landmark of modern theatre that explores the byzantine complexities of marriage with the honesty of genius
    Guardian

About the author

James Joyce

James Joyce was born in Dublin on 2 February 1882, the eldest of ten children in a family which, after brief prosperity, collapsed into poverty. He was none the less educated at the best Jesuit schools and then at University College, Dublin, and displayed considerable academic and literary ability. Although he spent most of his adult life outside Ireland, Joyce's psychological and fictional universe is firmly rooted in his native Dublin, the city which provides the settings and much of the subject matter for all his fiction. He is best known for his landmark novel Ulysses (1922) and its controversial successor Finnegans Wake (1939), as well as the short story collection Dubliners (1914) and the semi-autobiographical novel A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916). James Joyce died in Zürich, on 13 January 1941.
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