James Stephens

1 universe Last reviewed 2026-11-02

James Stephens was an Irish novelist and poet. His birth date is uncertain: he claimed 2 February 1882, but records point to 9 February 1880 in Dublin. He died on 26 December 1950. Raised partly at the Meath Protestant Industrial School for Boys in Blackrock, he began as a poet under George William Russell (AE). His first poetry collection, Insurrections, appeared in 1909. He was a committed Irish republican and worked as registrar of the National Gallery of Ireland until 1924. He retold Irish myths with humour and lyricism, notably in Irish Fairy Tales (1920) and Deirdre (1923). His best-known novel, The Crock of Gold (1912), draws loosely on Irish wonder tales. He also wrote Insurrection in Dublin, an account of the 1916 Rising, and in the 1930s became a friend of James Joyce.

Universe(s)

Books

• The Crock of Gold (1912) · The Crock of Gold Core Canon

Aggregate across all universes

• Total Core Canon books across all universes: 1 book
• Award recognitions across all universes: 1 (1 won)

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