This book is both a study of how James Joyce created two of the most iconic characters in literature--Leopold Bloom and Marion Tweedy Bloom--as well as a history of the genesis
ofUlysses. From a genetic critical perspective, it explores the conception and evolution of the Blooms as fictional characters in the work’s wide range of surviving notes and
manuscripts. At the same time, it also chronicles the production ofUlysses from 1917 to its first edition in 1922 and beyond. Based on decades of research, it is an original engagement
with the textual archive ofUlysses, including the exciting, recently-discovered manuscripts now in the National Library of Ireland.
Luca Crispi excavates the raw material and examines the creative processes Joyce deployed in the construction of the Blooms and so the writing ofUlysses. Framed by a contextual
introduction and four bibliographical appendices, the seven main chapters are a critical investigation of the fictional events and memories that constitute the ’lives’ of the Blooms. Thereby,
it is also a commentary on Joyce’s conception of Ulysses more generally. Crispi analyzes how the stories in the published book achieved their final form and discloses previously unexamined
versions of them for everyone who enjoys reading Ulysses.
This book demonstrates the various ways in which specialist textual work on the genesis of Ulysses directly intersects with other critical and interpretive readings.Becoming the Blooms
is a behind-the-scenes guide to the creation of one of the most important books ever written.
