Perspective

Richard Ellmann, the author of "James Joyce," is one of the foremost literary biographers of the twentieth century and his books win many awards and much praise. In fact, "James Joyce," originally published in 1959, wins the National Book Award in 1960. Although he is American, he works extensively on biographies of Irish authors, including Joyce, but also W.B. Yeats and Oscar Wilde. The influence of his work on Yeats is evident in "James Joyce," as he has tracked down extensive correspondence between the two authors, discussing the influence the older Yeats has on Joyce's career, especially at the beginning stages. In fact, the book itself is dedicated to George Yeats, the wife of the poet, who ostensibly helps Ellmann in gathering this information and who certainly aids him with writing works on Yeats (published in 1948 and 1954).

The second important note on perspective in "James Joyce" is that contemporary...