Nora: A Love Story of Nora Barnacle and James Joyce
Nora: A Love Story of Nora Barnacle and James Joyce
by Nuala O’Connor
‘Jim styles me his sleepy-eyed Nora. His squirrel girl from the pages of Ibsen. I am pirate queen and cattle raider. I’m his blessed little blackguard. I am, he says, his auburn marauder. I’m his honourable barnacle goose.... “Nora,” Jim says, “you are story.”’
C format paperback | ISBN 9781848408500 | 452pp | February 2022
When Nora Barnacle, a twenty-year-old from Galway working as a maid at Finn’s Hotel, meets young James Joyce on a summer’s day in Dublin, she is instantly attracted to him, natural and daring in his company. But she cannot yet imagine the extraordinary life they will share together. All Nora knows is she likes her Jim enough to leave behind family and home, in search of a bigger, more exciting life.
As their family grows, they ricochet from European city to city, making fast friends amongst the greatest artists and writers of their age as well as their wives, and are brought high and low by Jim’s ferocious ambition. But time and time again, Nora is torn between their intense and unwavering desire for each other and the constant anxiety of living hand-to-mouth, often made worse by Jim’s compulsion for company and attention. So, while Jim writes and drinks his way to literary acclaim, Nora provides unflinching support and inspiration, sometimes at the expense of her own happiness, and especially at that of their children, Giorgio and Lucia. Eventually, together, they achieve some longed-for security and stability, but it is hard-won and imperfect to the end.
In sensuous, resonant prose, Nuala O’Connor has conjured the definitive portrait of this strong, passionate and loyal Irishwoman. Nora is a tour de force, an earthy and authentic love letter to Irish literature’s greatest muse.
Shortlisted for Dalkey Novel of the Year Award 2022
Shortlisted for Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year Award 2022
Shortlisted for an An Post Irish Book Award 2021
RTÉ Audience Choice Award - championed by Seán Rocks, RTÉ RADIO 1. Read More HERE
One Dublin One Book choice for 2022
One Dublin One Book is a Dublin City Council initiative, led by Dublin City Libraries, which encourages everyone to read a book connected with the capital city during the month of April every year. Read More HERE
One Dublin One Book: Between the Lines. Nuala O’Connor on the love letters of Nora and Jim, EPIC Museum.
One Dublin One Book: Sirens and Song - Nuala O’Connor with Darina Gallagher and Sinéad Murphy, Rathmines Library.
Praise for Nora:
“A lively fictional rendition of Nora Barnacle, the minimally educated, blue-collar woman who propped up one of literature’s most challenging highbrow writers.”
“In language brimming with evocative imagery and energy, O’Connor resurrects a life ‑ and a love ‑ of magnificent intensity.”
“The Nora that leaps off these pages is at once muse, temptress, earth mother and warrior queen all rolled into one glorious package”
“An exceptional novel by one of the most brilliant contemporary Irish writers, this is a story of love in all its many seasons, from ardent sexuality to companionable tenderness, through strength, challenge, and courage. Nuala O’Connor has brought to vivid life a woman about whom every literature lover has surely wondered and has done so with immense skill and daring.”
“O’Connor succeeds in rendering Nora and Jim as three-dimensional humans with the same frailties and foibles as the rest of us.”
“Everything in the novel has been carefully measured and painstakingly researched to present what I think is as accurate a portrayal of Nora Barnacle as is possible. If you are familiar with the life of the Joyces, this novel is immensely rewarding in that you know you can trust O’Connor’s accuracy and, therefore, her construct. If you know little, you will learn a lot. Either way, I highly recommend it.”
“…historical fiction brought lushly to life, laced with glorious prose…”
“A lively and loving paean to the indomitable Nora Barnacle.”
“Narrated in Nora’s robust voice ... O’Connor’s admirable accomplishment adds to the abundant Joyceana with a moving examination of an unforgettable family.”
“…an earthy and authentic love letter to Irish literature’s greatest muse. Deliciously filthy.”
“This fictional Nora is entirely convincing in her raw sensuality, her stubborn determination, her powerful sense of grievance and her inability to stop loving a deeply erratic, wildly manipulative yet enormously talented man.’”
“From its opening pages, O’Connor offers a stream of consciousness narrative, reminiscent of Joyce’s own voice.”
“This is truly an exceptional piece of writing from Nuala O’Connor. Nora Barnacle and James Joyce - a partnership, a contradiction, an adventure, a lifelong love.”
Praise for Nuala O’Connor
“The skilled combination of fact and fiction is what allows the imaginative author to shine, and in this, her ninth book, Nuala O’Connor truly shines.”
“A finely written novel ... told with passion and feeling.”
“The bedrock of factuality also allows her to concentrate on detail ... rather than an unfolding, interlocking narrative”
“It is difficult to write sex well, but Ní Chonchúir manages to strike a delicate balance between passion and poetry.”
“Nuala Ní Chonchúir’s characters and their relationships have about them that most precious and elusive quality: the ring of truth.”
“a powerful literary talent.”
Gratefully supported by the Arts Council of Ireland.
