Stephen Dedalus is an Irish Catholic son in a pious Dublin family when he chooses to shed the constraints of religion, abandon his social and familial obligations, and escape the limits of his country to cultivate his life as a writer. In his autobiographical debut novel, James Joyce mirrors his own emotional and intellectual coming-of-age—from sexual awakening and upheavals of faith to fleeting epiphanies—in exploring the influences that help to shape an artistic identity.

Unprecedented at the time of publication, Joyce’s modernist stream of consciousness narrative was groundbreaking in its form, and today his novel stands as one of the best examples of modernist literature.

AmazonClassics brings you timeless works from the masters of storytelling. Ideal for anyone who wants to read a great work for the first time or rediscover an old favorite, these new editions open the door to literature’s most unforgettable characters and beloved worlds.

Revised edition: Previously published as A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, this edition of A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (AmazonClassics Edition) includes editorial revisions.