Grant Richards writes to Joyce with his problems about the Dubliners manuscript. Damn.
The correspondence between Richards and Joyce is contentious. Joyce had signed a contract with Richards – but, as the letter above indicates, things went south pretty quick – and Joyce ended up refusing to make the changes suggested. You can see why Joyce would, too. He would not delete a “troublesome word” just to satisfy the prudes of Dublin. Upsetting the prudes of Dublin – shoving their faces up against the lookingglass as it were – was his whole point. (Quote about that from him here) Once Ezra Pound got on Joyce’s side as a powerful ally – Richards eventually did publish The Dubliners, in 1914.
