Episode 1

"Living In Ireland had lost all meaning for Joyce; and the lure of 'exile' began to possess him. But if he was to elope with Nora he would need to secure an income, and would Nora go with him? Fortunately, she was as captivated by him as he was by her..."

Our five part reading of this voluminous account looks at Joyce's years spent in Europe, when he held down menial jobs, caroused a lot, experienced the ups and downs of married life, but still managed to produce works of literature that stand the test of time.

1. Gordon Bowker's study of the great writer, abridged for radio by Penny Leicester, begins with his early life in Dublin, which is full of japes with friends and then an eye to exile...

Narrator Jim Norton and the voice of Joyce is Andrew Scott.