Book review: Mary Morrissy asks ‘what if Nora never waited?’ in Penelope Unbound

Author Mary Morrissy researched the lives of James Joyce and Nora Barnacle, as well as the historical background, assiduously, to take readers on an alternate journey to the past

Author Mary Morrissy. Picture: Denis Scannell

Here is a treat for admirers of James Joyce and his enigmatic wife, Nora Barnacle. The young Galway woman was working as a chambermaid at Finn’s Hotel in Dublin when she first met the scruffy former student and aspiring writer. Joyce set his great novel Ulysses on June 16, 1904 in memory of their first date, and the day is celebrated every year when crowds throng the streets of Dublin in Edwardian dress.

The hotel is long closed, but the words “Finn’s Hotel” can still be read on the building near the bus stop on Nassau St, and many readers look up at its sunlit façade and remember Nora and James.