In Dublin on 10 June 1904, in Nassau Street, James Joyce, aspiring writer and penniless flâneur, accosted a handsome young woman with auburn hair and a self-possessed stride. Her slightly comical name – though Joyce never thought it so – was Norah Barnacle. She had come from Galway the previous year to work as a chambermaid in Finn’s hotel, at the far end of Nassau Street. He asked her for a date, and she accepted. Thus began one of the most famous romantic partnerships in world literature.
Famous, and extremely unlikely. Joyce was highly educated, perhaps too much so, knew a number of languages including Danish, wrote verse and prose of exquisite sensitivity, and had no doubts as to his own genius. Nora – the “h” was the least of the things Joyce took from her – had left school at 12, was not much interested in books, was strong-minded, ever on for a bit of fun, and sceptical of Joyce’s hifalutin ways.
