James Stephens’s Followers (40)

James Stephens

Born

in Dublin, Ireland

February 09, 1880

Died

December 26, 1950

Genre

Fantasy, Humor and Comedy, Poetry

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James Stephens was an Irish novelist and poet. James' mother worked in the home of the Collins family of Dublin and was adopted by them. He attended school with his adopted brothers Thomas and Richard (Tom and Dick) before graduating as a solicitor's clerk. They competed and won several athletic competitions despite James' slight stature (he stood 4'10" in his socks). He was known affectionately as 'Tiny Tim'. He was much enthralled by tales of military valour of his adoptive family and would have been a soldier except for his height. By the early 1900s James was increasingly inclined to socialism and the Irish language (he could speak and write Irish) and by 1912 was a dedicated Irish Republican. He was a close friend of the 1916 leader Th James Stephens was an Irish novelist and poet. James' mother worked in the home of the Collins family of Dublin and was adopted by them. He attended school with his adopted brothers Thomas and Richard (Tom and Dick) before graduating as a solicitor's clerk. They competed and won several athletic competitions despite James' slight stature (he stood 4'10" in his socks). He was known affectionately as 'Tiny Tim'. He was much enthralled by tales of military valour of his adoptive family and would have been a soldier except for his height. By the early 1900s James was increasingly inclined to socialism and the Irish language (he could speak and write Irish) and by 1912 was a dedicated Irish Republican. He was a close friend of the 1916 leader Thomas MacDonagh, who was then editor of "The Irish Review", manager of the Irish Theatre and deputy headmaster in St Enda's, the radical bilingual Montessori school run by PH Pearse, and spent most with MacDonagh in 1911. His growing nationalism brought a schism with his adopted family.
James Stephens produced many retellings of Irish myths and fairy tales. His retellings are marked by a rare combination of humour and lyricism (Deirdre, and Irish Fairy Tales are often especially praised). He also wrote several original novels (Crock of Gold, Etched in Moonlight, Demi-Gods) based loosely on Irish fairy tales. "Crock of Gold," in particular, achieved enduring popularity and was reprinted frequently throughout the author's lifetime.
Stephens began his career as a poet with the tutelage of "Æ" (George William Russell). His first book of poems, "Insurrections," was published in 1909. His last book, "Kings and the Moon" (1938), was also a volume of verse.
During the 1930s, Stephens had some acquaintance with James Joyce, who mistakenly believed that they shared a birthday. Joyce, who was concerned with his ability to finish what later became Finnegans Wake, proposed that Stephens assist him, with the authorship credited to JJ & S (James Joyce & Stephens, also a pun for the popular Irish whiskey made by John Jameson & Sons). The plan, however, was never implemented, as Joyce was able to complete the work on his own.
During the last decade of his life, Stephens found a new audience through a series of broadcasts on the BBC.
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James Stephens’s books

Average rating: 3.86 · 4,075 ratings · 390 reviews · 218 distinct works • Similar authors

	Traditional Irish Fairy Tales by James Stephens, Arthur Rackham (Illustrator) 3.81 avg rating — 1,990 ratings — published 1920 — 1009 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Crock of Gold 3.92 avg rating — 816 ratings — published 1912 — 2241 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Charwoman's Daughter 3.53 avg rating — 192 ratings — published 1912 — 168 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Insurrection in Dublin 3.92 avg rating — 145 ratings — published 1913 — 187 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Demi-gods 4.08 avg rating — 63 ratings — published 1914 — 118 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Irish Fairy and Folk Tales 3.48 avg rating — 48 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Deirdre 3.79 avg rating — 34 ratings — published 1923 — 38 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	In the Land of Youth 3.83 avg rating — 12 ratings — published 1924 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	English Romantic Poets by James Stephens (Editor), Edwin L. Beck (Editor), Royall H. Snow (Editor) 4.78 avg rating — 9 ratings — published 1933	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Reincarnations 3.17 avg rating — 12 ratings — 206 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Quotes by James Stephens (?)

“Curiosity will conquer fear more than bravery will.”
― James Stephens

tags: cool-quotes

39 likes

“Let the past be content with itself, for man needs forgetfulness as well as memory”
― James Stephens, Irish Fairy Tales

tags: forgetfulness, memory, past

30 likes

“Originality does not consist in saying what no one has ever said before, but in saying exactly what you think yourself.”
― James Stephens

tags: originality

23 likes

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Viaggio al termine della notte di Louis-Ferdinand Céline

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Middlesex di Jeffrey Eugenides

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La campana di vetro di Sylvia Plath

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Patria di Fernando Aramburu

4 votes, 7.8%

Tutti i racconti di Flannery O'Connor

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Autunno di Ali Smith

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Divertimento 1889 di Guido Morselli

3 votes, 5.9%

Gormenghast di Mervyn Peake

3 votes, 5.9%

Cronache della famiglia Wapshot di John Cheever

3 votes, 5.9%

La pentola dell'oro di James Stephens

2 votes, 3.9%

Cereali al neon. Cronaca di una mutazione di Sergio Oricci

1 vote, 2.0%

Ipotesi di una sconfitta di Giorgio Falco

1 vote, 2.0%

Passi di Jerzy Kosiński

1 vote, 2.0%

W o il ricordo d'infanzia di Georges Perec

0 votes, 0.0%

Cometa di Gregorio Magini

0 votes, 0.0%

51 total votes

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James Stephens’s Followers (40)

James Stephens

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James Stephens’s books