James Joyce Had Some Pretty Specific Sexual Desires
And we have some of his steamiest, most-NSFW love letters to prove it
By Lassie Smith
Irish author James Joyce (1882–1941) is best known for his poems, short-stories, and novels, which were full of literary innovations and linguistic virtuosity, and he remains one of the most influential authors of the 20th century. While the literary masterpieces Dubliners (1914) and Finnegans Wake (1939) bookend Joyce’s writing career, they don’t reveal everything about the man behind the pen.
To know more about Joyce’s love life — or any man’s true self — you need to read his letters. And Joyce’s letters are a graphic treasure trove of raw intimacy that Joyce and his wife, Nora Barnacle, shared. Although Barnacle’s letters to Joyce have never been recovered, he often references her missives in his own correspondence, implying that there’s yet another cache of obscene romance for a historian to uncover some day. The pair’s communication provides a rare look at marital intimacy from the early 20th century, and it gives even the most explicit modern erotica a run for its money.
