A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

'I go to encounter for the millionth time the reality of experience and to forge in the smithy of my soul the uncreated conscience of my race.' Painfully truthful, James Joyce’s semi-autobiographical novel A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is the coming of age story of Stephen Dedalus in the turbulent times of late 19th-century Ireland. Faced with the strictures of a traditional household and a deeply religious society, this classic tale brings to life Dedalus’s search for artistic freedom. Deeply emotional even today, Joyce's remarkable tale continues to offer great insight into family relations and the human condition.