This is the first book in English on the friendship that sprang up
between these two major writers and the effects on both of that
friendship. The encounter has long been undervalued by scholars, largely
because Joyce and Svevo themselves appeared at times to attach
relatively little importance to it, but it was in fact far from
tangential to the development of their careers, coming as it did at key
moments in their lives. This book is the first full study of the effect
on both writers of their encounter and their unlikely friendship, in the
light of the parallels between their life experiences and their shared
culture.
Stanislaus Joyce said: 'The happy chance that brought these two
remarkable men together was a literary event that is likely to increase
rather than decrease in interest in years to come'. A study of this
unlikely friendship by an experienced Italianist will have much that is
useful to say in this regard, particularly as our understanding of the
importance of Svevo's Jewishness has changed greatly in recent years.