100,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock 🇳🇿

Overnight NZ-wide delivery on in-stock orders 🚀

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

3.64 goodreads logo

Ratings/reviews counts are updated frequently.

Check link for latest rating.
( 161,863 ratings, 8,960 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
In A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce, the novel follows the formative years of Stephen Dedalus, an introspective young man growing up in early 20th-century Ireland. Struggling with religious and cultural influences, Stephen seeks to forge his own identity as an artist. Through his journey, he grapples with themes of individuality, artistic freedom, and self-discovery.
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$5000

International Supplier

This title is in-stock with overseas suppliers. While it is not available locally, we fly books in weekly from the US and UK to our Auckland warehouse for immediate dispatch.

AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 2-3 weeks

Found a better price? Request a price match

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book may appeal to you if you enjoy a profound coming-of-age story that delves deeply into the complexities of identity and individuality. You'll be captivated by the rich prose and intricate depiction of a young man's journey as he grapples with personal beliefs and self-discovery in the face of societal and familial expectations.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

The story of the childhood and youth of an Irish poet-scholar, Stephen Dedalus, who questions his Catholic faith as he reaches manhood in turn-of-the century Dublin.

This edition, published for the novel's centennial, is the definitive text, authorized by the Joyce estate and collated from all known proofs, manuscripts, and impressions to reflect the author's original wishes.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

For the centennial of its original publication, a beautiful Deluxe Edition of one of Joyce's greatest works.

A Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition, with flaps and deckle-edged paper.

For the centennial of its original publication, a beautiful Deluxe Edition of one of Joyce's greatest works—featuring a foreword by Karl Ove Knausgaard, author of the New York Times bestselling six-volume autobiographical novel My Struggle, which has been likened to a 21st-century Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.

The first, shortest, and most approachable of James Joyce's novels, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man portrays the Dublin upbringing of Stephen Dedalus, from his youthful days at Clongowes Wood College to his radical questioning of all convention. In doing so, it provides an oblique self-portrait of the young Joyce himself. At its centre lie questions of origin and source, authority and authorship, and the relationship of an artist to his family, culture, and race. Exuberantly inventive in style, the novel subtly and beautifully orchestrates the patterns of quotation and repetition instrumental in its hero's quest to create his own character, his own language, life, and art— "to forge in the smithy of my soul the uncreated conscience of my race."

This Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition, published for the novel's centennial, is the definitive text, authorised by the Joyce estate and collated from all known proofs, manuscripts, and impressions to reflect the author's original wishes.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,500 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

H. G. Wells praised Stephen Dedalus as an exceptionally believable character, while Virginia Woolf noted Joyce's commitment to capturing life's internal complexities, even at the expense of traditional narrative coherence. Ezra Pound predicted the novel's enduring significance in English literature.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780143108245

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 04 August 2016

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Penguin Classics

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 21.0mm

Width: 146.0mm

Height: 212.0mm

Weight: 370g

Pages: 336

About the Author

James Joyce (1882-1941), an Irish poet and novelist, was one of the most celebrated writers of the twentieth century. His works include Ulysses, Dubliners, and Finnegans Wake. Karl Ove Knausgaard's first novel, Out of the World, was the first ever debut novel to win the Norwegian Critics' Prize and his second, A Time for Everything, was longlisted for the 2010 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. The My Struggle cycle of novels has been heralded as a masterpiece wherever it has appeared. His work is published in 35 languages. Knsugaard's newest novel, The School of Night, will be published by Penguin Press in January 2026. Seamus Deane (introduction and notes), professor of English and the Donald and Marilyn Keough Professor of Irish Studies at the University of Notre Dame, is a member of the Royal Irish Academy and the general editor of the works of James Joyce for Penguin Classics. Roman Muradov (cover illustrator) has done illustrations for an array of clients, including The New Yorker, The New York Times, Vogue, NPR, and Dark Horse Comics. He lives in San Francisco.

Also by James Joyce

View all
  • Finnegans Wake
    Finnegans Wake follows a man's thoughts and dreams during a single night. It is also a book that participates in the re-reading of Irish history that was part of the revival of the early 20th century. The author, James Joyce, also wrote Ulysses, Dubliners, and Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.
    Paperback
    $2900
    Elsewhere:
    $3200
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Ulysses
    Ulysses, Joyce's innovative masterpiece, celebrates its 100th Anniversary in 2022, with a new introduction by Anne Enright. Set entirely on one day, 16 June 1904, Ulysses follows Leopold Bloom and Stephen Daedalus as they go about their daily business in Dublin. From this starting point, James Joyce constructs a novel of extraordinary imaginative richness and depth. Unique in the history...
    Paperback
    $2800
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Dubliners
    With an introduction and notes by Terence Brown Dubliners, Joyce's first major work, was written when he was only twenty-five, bringing his city to the world for the first time. His stories are rooted in the rich detail of Dublin life, portraying ordinary, often defeated lives with unflinching realism. He writes of social decline, sexual desire and exploitation, corruption, and...
    Paperback
    $2199
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Ulysses
    The greatest novel of the twentieth century, now in a beautiful Clothbound Classics centenary edition. Following the events of one single day in Dublin, the 16th of June 1904, and what happens to the characters Stephen Dedalus, Leopold Bloom, and his wife Molly, Ulysses is a monument to the human condition. It has survived censorship, controversy, and legal action, and...
    Hardback
    $4500
    Elsewhere:
    $5000
    Backorder
    Ships mid August
  • Ulysses
    'Everybody knows now that Ulysses is the greatest novel of the century' — Anthony Burgess, Observer Following the events of one single day in Dublin, the 16th June 1904, and what happens to the characters Stephen Dedalus, Leopold Bloom and his wife Molly, Ulysses is a monument to the human condition. It has survived censorship, controversy and legal action, and...
    Paperback
    $2599
    Backorder
    Ships early August
  • Dubliners
    A collection of fifteen stories, evoking the voices and lives that teem in Joyce's vision of his native city Edited by Hans Walter Gabler with introductions by Scarlett Baron and John Banville In this powerfully influential series of short stories, James Joyce captures uneasy souls, shabby lives, and innocent minds in the dark streets and homes of his native city....
    Paperback
    $2400
    Elsewhere:
    $2600
    Backorder
    Ships mid August
  • A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
    The portrayal of Stephen Dedalus's Dublin childhood and youth, his quest for identity through art and his gradual emancipation from the claims of family, religion and Ireland itself, is also an oblique self-portrait of the young James Joyce and a universal testament to the artist's 'eternal imagination'.
    Paperback
    $1899
    Backorder
    Ships mid August
  • A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
    'A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man begins with one of the most arresting opening sentences in literature,' Patrick McGuinness, from his Preface. A Portrait first appeared in instalments in the modernist magazine The Egoist in 1914, before it came out as a book in 1916, the year of the Easter Rising against British rule in Ireland. An...
    Paperback
    $2999
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Dubliners
    New to Penguin Clothbound Classics, Joyce's seminal story collection about ordinary Dublin lives Dubliners, Joyce's first major work, written when he was only twenty-five, brought his city to the world for the first time. His stories are rooted in the rich detail of Dublin life, portraying ordinary, often defeated lives with unflinching realism. He writes of social decline, sexual desire...
    Hardback
    $4000
    Backorder
    Ships mid August
  • A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
    James Joyce's first novel, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1916), is a captivating evocation of the emotional, intellectual, and creative coming of age of the young Stephen Dedalus, essentially Joyce's alter ego. The originality and inventiveness of its modernist style prefigure Joyce's yet more experimental masterpiece, Ulysses. This stunning new edition features deluxe cover treatments, ribbon...
    Hardback
    $1999
    Available
    Ships in 1 week
  • Dubliners
    The FLAME TREE COLLECTABLE CLASSICS are chosen to create a delightful and timeless home library. Each stunning edition features deluxe cover treatments, ribbon markers, luxury endpapers and gilded edges. The unabridged text is accompanied by a Glossary of Victorian and Literary terms produced for the modern reader. The fifteen short stories collected in Dubliners are the best by renowned Modernist...
    Hardback
    $1999
    Available
    Ships in 1 week
  • Dubliners
    ‘Like an artist working an empty sky into a busy cityscape, or an empty chair into a crowded family portrait, Joyce creates spaces where the reader is left to themselves’ Patrick McGuinness, from his Preface to Dubliners. Set in the late 19th and early 20th century, Dubliners is made up of fifteen stories, which all sit within the realm of...
    Paperback
    $2799
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks

More from General Fiction

View all
  • The Wedding People
    'BEST READ OF THE YEAR SO FAR' THE TIMES 'BOOKS AS FUN AS THIS ONE ARE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN' GUARDIAN Phoebe Stone arrives at a grand beachside hotel in Rhode Island wearing her best dress and least comfortable shoes. Immediately she is mistaken for one of the wedding people — but she's actually the only guest at the Cornwall...
    Paperback
    $2399
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    (3)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Theo of Golden
    THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING PHENOMENON'For anything to be truly good, there must be love in it. Nothing is what it's supposed to be if love is not at the core.' One morning, a stranger arrives in the town of Golden. No one knows who he is or where he came from…His name is Theo and he's arrived there by chance –...
    Paperback
    $2899
    Elsewhere:
    $3499
    (5)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    On Mystic Lake
    One of the greatest storytellers of our time - Delia Owens, author of Where the Crawdads Sing Annie Colwater's only child has just left home for school in England. On that same day, her husband of twenty years confesses that he's in love with a younger woman. Left alone in the beautiful California house which was once a home, Annie...
    Paperback
    $3100
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    Land
    Inspired by the mapping of Ireland in the mid nineteenth century, Land, the new novel from the author of Hamnet, is at once intimate and epic: a portrait of a family navigating a legacy of upheaval and loss with love and hope. On a windswept peninsula stretching out into the Atlantic, Tomás and his reluctant son, Liam, are working for the great...
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Mistborn Trilogy Boxed Set
    The Mistborn Trilogy Boxed Set by Brandon Sanderson is a landmark fantasy series that has captivated readers worldwide. Renowned for its innovative magic system, intricate world-building, and compelling characters, this trilogy is a must-have for any fantasy enthusiast. Immerse yourself in a world shrouded in ash, where a once-hopeful land is ruled by the tyrannical Dark Lord, known as the...
    Set
    $6499
    Elsewhere:
    $7500
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Signed Bookplate
    New Release
    Light Wielder
    THE EPIC CONCLUSION TO METAL SLINGER, AKA THE BOOK WITH THE PLOT TWIST THAT BROKE THE INTERNET Sail the seas. Master the blade. Protect your heart. What would you do to have it all? READERS ARE GOING WILD FOR *METAL SLINGER* ‘The BEST plot twist to ever grace my Kindle’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ ‘The author is a mastermind. Romantasy is back!!!!’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐...
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Project Hail Mary
    THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING NOVEL A BARACK OBAMA READING PICK A lone astronaut. An impossible mission. An ally he never imagined. 'The most enjoyable hard SF I have read in years' GUARDIAN 'Weir's finest work to date... This is the one book I read last year that I am certain I can recommend to anyone, no matter who, and know...
    Paperback
    $2099
    Elsewhere:
    $2800
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The Deal
    Welcome to Briar U! Get ready for your newest obsession . . . Discover the addictive world of the Off-Campus series from The Queen of Hockey Romance, Elle Kennedy! Read The Deal now for the perfect fake-dating romance! She's about to make a deal with the college bad boy . . . Hannah Wells has finally found someone who turns...
    Paperback
    $2499
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Project Hail Mary
    Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, the SUNDAY TIMES and NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of The Martian, offers a gripping new adventure in hard science fiction. With endorsement from notable figures such as Barack Obama and a slew of five-star reviews, this novel promises a thrilling and intellectually stimulating journey. Ryland Grace, a lone astronaut, finds himself on a...
    Paperback
    $2399
    Elsewhere:
    $2400
    (4)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    Yesteryear
    A BOLD AND BITING SATIRE. WILL HAVE YOU GASPING TO THE FINAL PAGE — Nita Prose WICKEDLY FUNNY, BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN AND FRIGHTENINGLY PERCEPTIVE — Abigail Dean INVENTIVE, ADDICTIVE, A WILD RIDE — Ashley Audrain SHOT THROUGH WITH HUMOUR AND LACED WITH DARKNESS — Clare Mackintosh The Stepford Wives meets The Handmaid's Tale — Hannah Deitch My name was Natalie Heller...
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3699
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    The Bookshop Detectives 3: Murder and Mojitos
    Art Deco glamour, a Cuban crime queen and a grammar-obsessed killer collide in the #1 best-selling Bookshop Detectives’ high-stakes final instalment. The Bookshop Detectives are on the case! Booksellers Garth and Eloise Sherlock (and their cowardly dog, Stevie) have been roped into hosting Murder and Mojitos, a glamorous Art Deco festival event starring Cuba’s queen of crime fiction. Between flapper...
    Paperback
    $3000
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • On Sale
    20% off
    The Wrath of the Fallen
    SAMKIEL AND DIANNA WILL RETURN in the next sizzling, dark romantasy series from Amber V. Nicole. EPIC. SPICY. ADDICTIVE. Embrace the darkness . . . 'If you like romantasy, read this!' RAVEN KENNEDY 'A wicked ride from beginning to heart-shattering end. Leaving me literally screaming for more' HANNAH NICOLE MAERHER 'This is perfection. Amber Nicole's Dianna is the FMC of...
    Paperback
    $2400
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    In Stock
    Ships today

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.