James Joyce [1882-1941] is best known for his experimental use of language and his exploration of new literary methods. His subtle yet frank portrayal of human nature, coupled with his mastery of language, made him one of the most influential novelists of the 20th century.Joyce s use of stream-of-consciousness reveals the flow of impressions, half thoughts, associations, hesitations, impulses, as well as the rational thoughts of his characters. The main strength of his masterpiece novel, Ulysses" (1922) lies in the depth of character portrayed using this technique. Joyce s other major works include Dubliners", a collection of short stories that portray his native city, a semi-autobiographical novel called A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man" (1916), and Finnegan s Wake" (1939).

Len Platt is Professor of Modern Literatures at Goldsmiths, University of London. His publications include Aristocracies of Fiction: The Idea of Aristocracy in Late-Nineteenth-Century and Early-Twentieth-Century Literature; Musical Theater and American Culture (with David Walsh); Musical Comedy on the West End Stage, 1880 1939; Joyce, Race and Finnegans Wake; and the edited collection Modernism and Race.

Keith Carabine, Senior Honorary Research Fellow, University of Kent at Canterbury, and Chair of the Joseph Conrad Society (UK), is the author of The Life and Art: A Study of Conrad's 'Under Western Eyes' (1996) and the literary editor of Wordsworth Classics. He has also written on Sherwood Anderson, Dickens, Dostoevsky, Hawthorne, Hemingway, Wright Morris and Harriet Beecher Stowe.