Much attention has been given to Joyce's life in Dublin and Paris, but his productive years in Trieste have not received the same attention. In a thoroughly documented account, Hartshorn presents a clear, accessible study of Joyce's love/hate relationship with the city, the work he produced there, and the influence of Trieste on his writing.

The book begins with a brief overview of Trieste's history prior to Joyce's arrival in 1904, and follows Joyce's life there until World War I, a period in which he completed ^IDubliners^R and ^IA Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man^R, and began ^IUlysses^R. Joyce then departed for the safety of Zurich and the book concludes with his brief return of eight months to Trieste in 1919. Hartshorn has drawn from many previously untapped sources, providing a fascinating look at Joyce's Trieste years that no other Joyce biographer has yet to reveal.