It’s Bloomsday

By

James Joyce’s most famous works were long, complicated and, depending on who you’re asking, arguably inaccessible novels. But writing to his four-year-old grandson Stephen (yes, that Stephen) in August 1936 he set himself out a simpler task: write a story a kid could enjoy, as “Stevie” was then just four. In it, townspeople outsmart the devil, who has offered them a bridge on the condition that he own the first living soul who crosses it. The first living soul is a cat, urged across by means of a bucket of water.

Of course because it’s Joyce and everyone fights mercilessly about copyright, the entire story isn’t quite available online. But you can have a preview of the thing, as later it was published as a children’s book, here and here.

Michelle Dean has written for a variety of places, including The Awl, ELLE and Bitch. More from this author →