Joyce's only play was written in 1916, after "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man" and before "Ulysses", and is seen by Padraic Colum in his introduction as a watershed in Joyce's development as a writer. Turned down for the Abbey Theatre by W. B. Yeats, "Exiles" received its first major London performance in 1970 when Harold Pinter directed it at the Mermaid Theatre. The story of a renowned writer returning to Dublin after nine years of exile, the play reveals much of Joyce's own personal drama. The author's notes, which are included in this edition, discuss the play's implications and provide the reader with an invaluable analysis of the characters.
