The 15 unforgettable short stories that form this collection paint the portrait of a city through the eyes of its middle class residents. Beginning with stories of the very young and moving through adulthood into the tales of the very old, these brilliantly rendered snapshots of humble lives breathe life into historical fact.

Published in 1914 after 10 years of argument with publishers over charges of "obscenity," these stories were once described by Joyce as "a chapter in the moral history of my country." Their collection in one volume offers a unified vision across the Joycean literary landscape, where a claustrophobic and "paralyzed" Dublin spirals outward to a wide ranging, boundless universe.

These vivid, tightly focused observations about the life of Dublin's poorer classes originally made publishers uneasy: the stories contain unconventional themes and coarse language, and they mention actual people and places. Today, however, the stories are admired. They are considered to be masterful representations of Dublin done with economy and grace-representations, as Joyce himself once explained, of a chapter in the moral history of Ireland that give the Irish a good look at themselves. Although written for the Irish specifically, these stories-from the opening tale The Sisters to the final masterpiece The Dead-focus on moments of revelation that are common to all people.