A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

This semi-autobiographical novel, regarded by The Modern Library as one of the greatest English language novels of the 20th century, follows the early life of Stephen Dedalus, a fictional alter ego of James Joyce. Through Stephen's intellectual and spiritual awakening, the narrative explores his rebellion against the Catholic and Irish conventions of his upbringing as he ultimately seeks his path as an artist in Paris. The work also showcases pioneering modernist techniques that Joyce would further develop in his later masterpieces, Ulysses and Finnegan's Wake.