James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was born the oldest of eight children on February 2, 1882, in Rathgar, a suburb of Dublin, Ireland. His parents were John Stanislaus Joyce and Mary Jane Murray Joyce. From both parents Joyce inherited musical talent and, particularly from his father, a talent for playing with words and telling stories. Unfortunately, John Joyce liked to drink and spend money, which caused the family's gradual descent into poverty and forced them to move many times. Having lived in so many different addresses in and around Dublin (nearly twenty) allowed Joyce to gain an intimate knowledge of the city. Joyce dedicated his life to writing about the city and its people.

Despite the family's poverty, Joyce managed to get a good education at a series of Jesuit schools, where he was always an outstanding student. His academic career culminated in a degree in modern languages from...