One well-known American work that bears comparison with Dubliners is Sherwood Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio (1919), a collection of short stories based on the author’s experiences in his home town of Clyde, Ohio. Like many of his contemporaries, Joyce is indebted to the work of the Russian short-story writer (and playwright) Anton Chekhov (1860-1904). Virtually all of Chekhov’s short fiction is available in translation. Two good recent collections are Early Short Stories 1883-1888 and Later Short Stories 1888-1903 (ed. Shelby Foote, Modern Library, 1999). Finally, Katherine Mansfield, a contemporary of Joyce’s from New Zealand, also owes much to Chekhov. Readers who enjoy Dubliners will very likely want to look at some of her work, especially Bliss and Other Stories (1920) and The Garden Party and Other Stories (1922).
“The Dead” was adapted for the screen by director John Huston in 1987 with Donal McCann in the role of Gabriel and Anjelica Huston as Gretta. It received two Oscar nominations, including one for Tony Huston’s screenplay. More recently, this same story was adapted for the musical stage by Richard Nelson and Shaun Davey. The 1999 Broadway production, starring Christopher Walken in the role of Gabriel Conroy, earned five Tony nominations and one award (for Best Book).
There are many audio recordings of the Dubliners stories. The most recent (HarperCollins, 2000) is a recording of all fifteen stories by various readers, including Stephen Rea (“The Dead”), Fionulla Flanagan (“A Mother”) and Colm Meany (“Araby”); this recording has received very positive reviews. Other complete recordings are those by Jim Norton (two volumes; Naxos, 1999, 2000) and Frederick Davidson (Blackstone Audiobooks, 1992). Two collections read by Gerald McSorley, Dubliners and The Dead and Other Stories (Penguin, 1993), include eleven of the stories. The Dead and Other Stories from Dubliners (Audio Partners, 1989) contains a dramatized recording of “The Dead” by Danny Huston and Kate Mulgrew along with readings of “The Sisters,” “Eveline,” and “The Boarding House.” The James Joyce Collection (Dove Audiobooks, 1996) features a handful of stories from Dubliners along with excerpts from Portrait read by Gabriel Byrne.
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