A Work in Progress

In 1939, James Joyce finally published his long-awaited follow-up to Ulysses: Finnegans Wake. Joyce had kept the title a secret and had published portions of it as "A Work in Progress."  

Freund writes, "Finnegans Wake appeared at a moment of bad omen, as Joyce had feared it would. In 1939 the whole world was distracted and tense, menaced once again by the specter of war. Hitler's appetite for conquest had only been whetted by the uneasy capitulation of the democratic forces at Munich."

Joyce's Eyes

Joyce suffered from debilitating eye problems, which forced him to wear an eye patch for many years. In this photograph, his left eye is enlarged through the prism of his glasses. 

Freund captions this photograph, "Who ever anywhere will read these written words" Ulysses. 

Graceful Hands

"On his graceful hands, which seemed almost boneless, Joyce wore several heavily wrought gold and jeweled rings."

– Gisèle Freund

Joyce and Magnifying Glass

Joyce reads--most likely in the apartment of Eugene Jolas. 

Finnegans Wake

Finnegans Wake continues to be a work in progress: UVic Libraries acquired the 2014 Edition of the Wake Introduced by David Greetham and Illustrated by John Vernon Lord.