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Bibliography

A curated bibliography of essential and recommended works for Finnegans Wake study.

The Text​

Standard Edition​

Finnegans Wake by James Joyce

  • Viking Press / Penguin Books
  • ISBN: 978-0141183114
  • This pagination is used by McHugh and all scholarly references

Alternative Editions​

  • Faber and Faber (UK) — Same pagination
  • Oxford World's Classics (2012) — Includes introduction by Finn Fordham

Essential Reference Works​

Annotations & Guides​

TitleAuthor(s)YearDescription
Annotations to Finnegans WakeRoland McHugh1980/2016Line-by-line annotations
A Skeleton Key to Finnegans WakeJoseph Campbell & Henry Morton Robinson1944/2013Chapter summaries and paraphrase
A Reader's Guide to Finnegans WakeWilliam York Tindall1969Accessible chapter commentary
How to Read Finnegans WakeDerek Attridge2022Modern reading guide

Concordances & Lexicons​

TitleAuthorYearDescription
A Concordance to Finnegans WakeClive Hart1963Complete word index
Third Census of Finnegans WakeAdaline Glasheen1977Character index
A Gaelic Lexicon for Finnegans WakeBrendan O Hehir1967Irish language guide
The Sigla of Finnegans WakeRoland McHugh1976Joyce's character symbols

Joseph Campbell's Joyce Works​

Campbell's writing on Joyce spans his entire career, from his 1941 obituary notice to lectures delivered shortly before his death in 1987.

Primary Works​

TitleAuthor(s)YearDescription
A Skeleton Key to Finnegans WakeJoseph Campbell & Henry Morton Robinson1944/2013First comprehensive guide; Vico interpretation
Mythic Worlds, Modern Words: On the Art of James JoyceJoseph Campbell (ed. Edmund L. Epstein)2004Collected essays and lectures
The Mythic Novels of James JoyceJoseph Campbell1983Esalen Institute lectures (7+ hours audio)

Audio & Video Lectures​

TitleYearDurationSource
Esalen Institute lectures19837+ hoursJoseph Campbell Foundation
James Joyce Society lecture1951~1 hourFolkways Records / Internet Archive
Pathways with Joseph CampbellOngoingVariesSpotify (free podcast)

Articles​

  • "The Skin of Whose Teeth?" (December 1942, Saturday Review of Literature)
  • "The Skin of Whose Teeth? Part 2" (February 1943, Saturday Review of Literature)
  • Joyce obituary notice (1941)

See the dedicated Joseph Campbell & Finnegans Wake guide for full details.

Major Scholarly Studies​

Book-Length Studies​

TitleAuthorYearFocus
Joyce's Book of the DarkJohn Bishop1986The Wake as night/dream book
Structure and Motif in Finnegans WakeClive Hart1962Structural analysis
The Books at the WakeJames Atherton1959Literary allusions
Finnegans Wake: A Plot SummaryJohn Gordon1986Narrative analysis
Joyce's Anatomy of CultureCheryl Herr1986Cultural contexts
Finnegans Wake and the Girls from BostonDanis Rose2022Recent scholarship

Recent Scholarship​

TitleEditor(s)YearDescription
The New Joyce StudiesSean Latham (ed.)2019Cambridge collection
Genetic Joyce Studies—OngoingOnline journal
James Joyce Quarterly—1963–Leading journal

Biographical Context​

Joyce Biographies​

TitleAuthorYearNotes
James JoyceRichard Ellmann1959/1982Definitive biography
Nora: A Biography of Nora JoyceBrenda Maddox1988ALP's inspiration
James Joyce: A New BiographyGordon Bowker2011Updated biography

Letters & Notebooks​

TitleEditorYearContents
Letters of James JoyceStuart Gilbert / Richard Ellmann1957-663 volumes
The James Joyce ArchiveMichael Groden et al.197863 volumes of facsimiles

Theoretical & Critical Approaches​

Foundational Theory​

TitleAuthorYearRelevance
The New ScienceGiambattista Vico1744Cyclical history theory
A VisionW.B. Yeats1925Irish mysticism, gyres
The Interpretation of DreamsSigmund Freud1900Dream theory

Joyce Criticism​

TitleAuthorYearApproach
James Joyce and the Making of UlyssesFrank Budgen1934Composition process
Our Exagmination Round His FactificationVarious1929Early Wake criticism
Ulysses and UsDeclan Kiberd2009Accessible Joyce criticism

Online Resources​

Databases & Archives​

Reading Resources​

Building Your Library​

Minimum (Free)​

  1. Text (library copy or public domain where available)
  2. FWEET bookmarked
  1. Viking/Penguin Finnegans Wake
  2. McHugh's Annotations (used copies available)
  3. Campbell's Skeleton Key

Complete ($200-300)​

  1. Glasheen's Third Census
  2. Tindall's Reader's Guide
  3. Hart's Concordance
  4. Bishop's Joyce's Book of the Dark
  5. Ellmann's James Joyce biography

Journals​

JournalFocusAccess
James Joyce QuarterlyAll JoyceSubscription
Joyce Studies AnnualScholarly essaysSubscription
Genetic Joyce StudiesManuscripts/compositionFree online
Papers on JoyceSpanish Joyce studiesOpen access

See Also​