Nora: The Real Life of Molly Bloom (Paperback)

by Brenda Maddox (Author) "TO THIS DAY departures by sea from Ireland are noisy, anxious affairs..." (more)
Key Phrases: mineral water factory, dirty letters, seventh arrondissement, Miss Weaver, James Joyce, New York (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Not only is this a highly engaging Joyce family biographybrightly written, scrupulously researched and full of intimate, little-known Joyceanait also gives an important thrust to a scholarly opinion now gathering force: that far from being an insignificant factor in her husband's work, Nora was the inspiration for Ulysses's Molly Bloom, Finnegans Wake's Anna Livia Plurabelle and principal females in all his other writings. Though she was semiliterate and never read Ulysses, Galway-bred Nora was intelligent, humorous and strong; and, for the exiled Joyce, she was Ireland. This account of how she stood by her hard-drinking, thriftless "genius" through years of poverty, physical tribulations and endless nomadism is deeply touching. Others figure prominently in the storymost notably Joyce's brother Stanislaus, benefactor Harriet Weaver, his first publisher Sylvia Beach and the Joyce's two children, Lucia, who went mad, and Giorgio whose career as a singer was disastrousyet the figure who shines through in the freshest, strongest light is Nora. The reader may well agree that Joyce could not have written any of his books without her. Maddox's previous books include Who's Afraid of Elizabeth Taylor and Married and Gay. Illustrations.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal
Nora Joyce has long been seen as a shrew who was a poor cook, basically illiterate, and an unlikely helpmate for the greatest novelist of the 20th century. Maddox presents a different Noraperfectly ordinary, in the Joycean sense of the word. A caring, devoted wife, with a sharp tongue, fine wit, and strong sense of survival, Nora not only made Joyce a man, but also, at least in part, the author he was. Nora was the model for many of Joyce's heroines, from Lily in "The Dead" to Molly of Ulysses and Anna Livia Plurabelle of Finnegans Wake. A carefully written, sensitive study that offers many new insights on the Joyces' family life. Essential for Joyceans. Donald Kaczvinsky, Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Mariner Books (June 16, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618057005
• ISBN-13: 978-0618057009
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #304,565 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An insightful and compelling look into a life and a marriage, January 3, 2003

By	Yvonne W. Lynch "yvonnewillis" (Boston, MA United States) - See all my reviews

The story of Nora and James Joyce's unconventional relationship and how it shaped the writings of one of history's most controversial authors. This book is nothing short of riveting, both in terms of the story it is telling and the way it is told. It explores the influence Nora held over Joyce in his life and his writing and gives countless examples of how he used the experiences of those around him in his books. More than anything, this is the story of a woman struggling to hold her life and her family together in the face of hardship after hardship. A truly incredible read that I couldn't put down until the last page - I even read the bibliography!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The perfect companion, October 15, 2005

By	James Peter Walsh (roseburg, oregon United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is the perfect companion to Richard Ellmans bio of JJ. I first read it when it came out a few years ago and I found it to be a good "other side of the story". Much has been made of Joyce's letters to his wife and of her being the model for Molly Bloom. He must have been a happy man if that was the case. She was all woman.